THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

DAVIS 


HISTORY 


OF 


PHILIP  THE  SECOND. 


tke  original  by  Titi,a,n.. 


PREFACE. 


THE  reign  of  Philip  the  Second  has  occupied  the 
pen  of  the  historian  more  frequently — if  we  except 
that  of  Charles  the  Fifth — than  any  other  portion  of 
the  Spanish  annals.  It  has  become  familiar  to  the 
English  reader  through  the  pages  of  Watson,  who 
has  deservedly  found  favor  with  the  public  for  the 
perspicuity  of  his  style, — a  virtue,  however,  not  un 
common  in  his  day, — for  the  sobriety  of  his  judg 
ments,  and  for  the  skill  he  has  shown  in  arranging 
his  complicated  story,  so  as  to  maintain  the  reader's 
interest  unbroken  to  the  end.  But  the  public,  in 
Watson's  day,  were  not  very  fastidious  in  regard  to 
the  sources  of  the  information  on  which  a  narrative 
was  founded.  Nor  was  it  easy  to  obtain  access  to 
those  unpublished  documents  which  constitute  the 
best  sources  of  information.  Neither  can  it  be  denied 
that  Watson  himself  was  not  so  solicitous  as  he  should 
have  been  to  profit  by  opportunities  which  a  little 
pains  might  have  put  within  his  reach, — presenting, 
in  this  respect,  a  contrast  to  his  more  celebrated 
predecessor,  Robertson ;  that  he  contented  himself 
too  easily  with  such  cheap  and  commonplace  mate 
rials  as  lay  directly  in  his  path ;  and  that,  conse 
quently,  the  foundations  of  his  history  are  much  too 
A*  (  v ;  ' 


vi  PREFACE. 

slight  for  the  superstructure.  For  these  reasons,  the 
reign  of  Philip  the  Second  must  still  be  regarded  as 
open  ground  for  English  and  American  writers. 

And  at  no  time  could  the  history  of  this  reign 
have  been  undertaken  with  the  same  advantages  as 
at  present,  when  the  more  enlightened  policy  of  the 
European  governments  has  opened  their  national 
archives  to  the  inspection  of  the  scholar;  when  he 
is  allowed  access,  in  particular,  to  the  Archives  of 
Simancas,  which  have  held  the  secrets  of  the  Spanish 
monarchy  hermetically  sealed  for  ages. 

The  history  of  Philip  the  Second  is  the  history  of 
Europe  during  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
It  covers  the  period  when  the  doctrines  of  the  Refor 
mation  were  agitating  the  minds  of  men  in  so  fearful 
a  manner  as  to  shake  the  very  foundations  of  the 
Romish  hierarchy  in  the  fierce  contest  which  divided 
Christendom.  Philip,  both  from  his  personal  char 
acter  and  from  his  position  as  sovereign  of  the  most 
potent  monarchy  in  Europe,  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  party  which  strove  to  uphold  the  fortunes  of 
the  ancient  Church ;  and  thus  his  policy  led  him 
perpetually  to  interfere  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
other  European  states, — making  it  necessary  to  look 
for  the  materials  for  his  history  quite  as  much  without 
the  Peninsula  as  within  it.  In  this  respect  the  reign 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  presents  a  strong  contrast 
to  that  of  Philip  the  Second  ;  and  it  was  the  consid 
eration  of  this,  when  I  had  completed  my  history  of 
the  former,  and  proposed  at  some  future  day  to  enter 
upon  that  of  the  latter,  that  led  me  to  set  about  a 
collection  of  authentic  materials  from  the  public 


PREFACE.  •    vii 

archives  in  the  great  European  capitals.  It  was  a 
work  of  difficulty;  and,  although  I  had  made  some 
progress  in  it,  I  did  not  feel  assured  of  success  until 
I  had  the  good  fortune  to  obtain  the  co-operation  of 
my  friend  Don  Pascual  de  Gayangos,  Professor  of 
Arabic  in  the  University  of  Madrid.  This  eminent 
scholar  was  admirably  qualified  for  the  task  which  he 
so  kindly  undertook ;  since,  with  a  remarkable  facility 
— such  as  long  practice  only  can  give — in  deciphering 
the  mysterious  handwriting  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
he  combined  such  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
history  of  his  country  as  enabled  him  to  detect,  amidst 
the  ocean  of  manuscripts  which  he  inspected,  such 
portions  as  were  essential  to  my  purpose. 

With  unwearied  assiduity  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
examination  of  many  of  the  principal  collections, 
both  in  England  and  on  the  Continent.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  the  British  Museum  and  the 
State-Paper  Office,  in  London ;  the  Library  of  the 
Dukes  of  Burgundy,  in  Brussels;  that  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  Leyden ;  the  Royal  Library,  at  the  Hague ; 
the  Royal  Library  of  Paris,  and  the  Archives  of  the 
Kingdom,  in  the  Hotel  Soubise ;  the  Library  of  the 
Academy  of  History,  the  National  Library  at  Madrid, 
and,  more  important  than  either,  the  ancient  Archives 
of  Simancas,  within  whose  hallowed  precincts  Sefior 
Gayangos  was  one  of  the  first  scholars  permitted  to 
enter. 

Besides  these  public  repositories,  there  are  several 
private  collections  to  the  owners  of  which  I  am 
largely  indebted  for  the  liberal  manner  in  which  they 
have  opened  them  for  my  benefit.  I  may  mention  in 


viii  PREFACE. 

particular  the  late  Lady  Holland,  who  kindly  per 
mitted  copies  to  be  made  by  Sefior  Gayangos  from 
the  manuscripts  preserved  in  Holland  House ;  Sir 
Thomas  Phillips,  Bart.,  who  freely  extended  the  same 
courtesy  in  respect  to  the  present  work  which  he  had 
shown  to  me  on  a  former  occasion ;  and  Patrick  Fraser 
Tytler,  Esq.,  the  late  excellent  historian  of  Scotland, 
who  generously  placed  at  my  disposal  sundry  documents 
copied  by  him  in  the  public  offices  with  his  own  hand 
for  the  illustration  of  the  reign  of  Mary  Tudor. 

In  Spain  the  collection  made  by  Sefior  Gayangos 
was  enriched  by  materials  drawn  from  the  family 
archives  of  the  marquis  of  Santa  Cruz,  whose  illus 
trious  ancestor  first  had  charge  of  the  Spanish  armada; 
from  the  archives  of  Medina  Sidonia,  containing 
papers  of  the  duke  who  succeeded  to  the  command 
of  that  ill-starred  expedition;  and  from  the  archives 
of  the  house  of  Alva,  —  a  name  associated  with  the 
most  memorable  acts  of  the  government  of  Philip. 

The  manuscripts  thus  drawn  from  various  quarters 
were  fortified  by  such  printed  works  as,  having  made 
their  appearance  in  the  time  of  Philip  the  Second, 
could  throw  any  light  on  his  government.  Where 
such  works  were  not  to  be  purchased,  Sefior  Gay 
angos  caused  copies  to  be  made  of  them,  or  of  those 
portions  which  were  important  to  my  purpose.  The 
result  of  his  kind,  untiring  labors  has  been  to  put  me 
in  possession  of  such  a  collection  of  authentic  mate 
rials  for  the  illustration  of  the  reign  of  Philip  as  no 
one  before  had  probably  attempted  to  make.  Nor 
until  now  had  the  time  come  for  making  the  attempt 
with  success. 


PREFACE.  ix 

There  still  remained,  however,  some  places  to  be 
examined  where  I  might  expect  to  find  documents 
that  would  be  of  use  to  me.  Indeed,  it  is  in  the 
nature  of  such  a  collection,  covering  so  wide  an 
extent  of  ground,  that  it  can  never  be  complete. 
The  historian  may  be  satisfied  if  he  has  such  authentic 
materials  at  his  command  as,  while  they  solve  much 
that  has  hitherto  been  enigmatical  in  the  accounts  of 
the  time,  will  enable  him  to  present  in  their  true  light 
the  character  of  Philip  and  the  policy  of  his  govern 
ment.  I  must  acknowledge  my  obligations  to  more 
than  one  person  who  has  given  me  important  aid  in 
prosecuting  my  further  researches. 

One  of  the  first  of  them  is  my  friend  Mr.  Edward 
Everett,  who  in  his  long  and  brilliant  career  as  a 
statesman  has  lost  nothing  of  that  love  of  letters 
which  formed  his  first  "claim  to  distinction.  The 
year  before  his  appointment  to  the  English  mission  he 
passed  on  the  Continent,  where,  with  the  kindness  that 
belongs  to  his  nature,  he  spent  much  time  in  examining 
for  me  the  great  libraries,  first  in  Paris,  and  afterwards 
more  effectually  in  Florence.  From  the  Archivio 
Medtceo,  in  which  he  was  permitted  by  the  grand 
duke  to  conduct  his  researches,  he  obtained  copies 
of  sundry  valuable  documents,  and  among  them  the 
letters  of  the  Tuscan  ministers,  which  have  helped  to 
guide  me  in  some  of  the  most  intricate  parts  of  my 
narrative.  A  still  larger  amount  of  materials  he  de 
rived  from  the  private  library  of  Count  Guicciardini, 
the  descendant  of  the  illustrious  historian  of  that 
name.  I  am  happy  to  express  my  lively  sense  of  the 
courtesy  shown  by  this  nobleman ;  also  my  gratitude 
i* 


x  PREFACE. 

for  kind  offices  rendered  me  by  Prince  Corsini ;  and 
no  less  by  the  Marquis  Gino  Capponi,  whose  name  will 
be  always  held  in  honor  for  the  enlightened  patronage 
which  he  has  extended  to  learning  while  suffering, 
himself,  under  the  severest  privation  that  can  befall 
the  scholar. 

There  was  still  an  important  deficiency  in  my  col 
lection, — that  of  the  Relazioni  Venete,  as  the  reports 
are  called  which  were  made  by  ambassadors  of  Venice 
on  their  return  from  their  foreign  missions.  The  value 
of  these  reports,  for  the  information  they  give  of  the 
countries  visited  by  the  envoys,  is  well  known  to  his 
torians.  *  The  deficiency  was  amply  supplied  by  the 
unwearied  kindness  of  my  friend  Mr.  Fay,  who  now 
so  ably  fills  the  post  of  minister  from  the  United  States 
to  Switzerland.  When  connected  with  the  American 
legation  at  Berlin,  he  in  the  most  obliging  manner 
assisted  me  in  making  arrangements  for  obtaining  the 
documents  I  desired,  which,  with  other  papers  of  im 
portance,  were  copied  for  me  from  the  manuscripts  in 
the  Royal  Library  of  Berlin  and  the  Ducal  Library  of 
Gotha.  I  have  also,  in  connection  with  this,  to  ex 
press  my  obligations  to  the  distinguished  librarian  of 
the  former  institution,  Mr.  Pertz,  for  the  good  will 
which  he  showed  in  promoting  my  views. 

Through  Mr.  Fay  I  also  obtained  the  authority  of 
Prince  Metternich  to  inspect  the  Archives  of  the  Em 
pire  in  Vienna,  which  I  inferred,  from  the  intimate 
relations  subsisting  between  the  courts  of  Madrid  and 
Vienna  in  that  day,  must  contain  much  valuable  matter 
relevant  to  my  subject.  The  result  did  not  correspond 
to  my  expectations.  I  am  happy,  however,  to  have  the 


PREFACE.  xi 

opportunity  of  publicly  offering  my  acknowledgments 
to  that  eminent  scholar  Dr.  Ferdinand  Wolf  for  the 
obliging  manner  in  which  he  conducted  the  investiga 
tion  for  me,  as  well  in  the  archives  above  mentioned 
as,  with  better  results,  in  the  Imperial  Library,  with 
which  he  is  officially  connected. 

In  concluding  the  list  of  those  to  whose  good  offices 
I  have  been  indebted,  I  must  not  omit  the  names  of 
M.  de  Salvandy,  minister  of  public  instruction  in 
France  at  the  time  I  was  engaged  in  making  my  col 
lection  ;  Mr.  Rush,  then  the  minister  of  the  United 
States  at  the  French  court ;  Mr.  Rives,  of  Virginia, 
his  successor  in  that  office  ;  and  last,  not  least,  my 
friend  Count  de  Circourt,  a  scholar  whose  noble  con 
tributions  to  the  periodical  literature  of  his  country, 
on  the  greatest  variety  of  topics,  have  given  him  a 
prominent  place  among  the  writers  of  our  time. 

I  am  happy,  also,  to  tender  my  acknowledgments 
for  the  favors  I  have  received  from  Mr.  Van  de  Weyer, 
minister  from  Belgium  to  the  court  of  St.  James;  from 
Mr.  B.  Homer  Dixon,  consul  for  the  Netherlands  at 
Boston ;  and  from  my  friend  and  kinsman  Mr.  Thomas 
Hickling,  consul  for  the  United  States  at  St.  Michael's, 
who  kindly  furnished  me  with  sundry  manuscripts  ex 
hibiting  the  condition  of  the  Azores  at  the  period  when 
those  islands  passed,  with  Portugal,  under  the  sceptre 
of  Philip  the  Second. 

Having  thus  acquainted  the  reader  with  the  sources 
whence  I  have  derived  my  materials,  I  must  now  say  a 
few  words  in  regard  to  the  conduct  of  my  narrative. 
An  obvious  difficulty  in  the  path  of  the  historian  of 
this  period  arises  from  the  nature  of  the  subject,  em- 


xii  PREFACE. 

bracing,  as  it  does,  such  a  variety  of  independent,  not 
to  say  incongruous,  topics,  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to 
preserve  any  thing  like  unity  of  interest  in  the  story. 
Thus  the  Revolution  of  the  Netherlands,  although, 
strictly  speaking,  only  an  episode  to  the  main  body  of 
the  narrative,  from  its  importance  well  deserves  to 
be  treated  in  a  separate  and  independent  narrative  by 
itself.*  Running  along  through  the  whole  extent  of 
Philip's  reign,  it  is  continually  distracting  the  atten 
tion  of  the  historian,  creating  an  embarrassment  some 
thing  like  that  which  arises  from  what  is  termed  a 
double  plot  in  the  drama.  The  best  way  of  obviating 
this  is  to  keep  in  view  the  dominant  principle  which 
controlled  all  the  movements  of  the  complicated  ma 
chinery,  so  to  speak,  and  impressed  on  them  a  unity 
of  action.  This  principle  is  to  be  found  in  the  policy 
of  Philip,  the  great  aim  of  which  was  to  uphold  the 
supremacy  of  the  Church,  and,  as  a  consequence,  that 
of  the  crown.  "  Peace  and  public  order,"  he  writes 
on  one  occasion,  "are  to  be  maintained  in  my  do 
minions  only  by  maintaining  the  authority  of  the  Holy 
See."  It  was  this  policy,  almost  as  sure  and  steady  in 
its  operation  as  the  laws  of  Nature  herself,  that  may 
be  said  to  have  directed  the  march  of  events  through 

*  It  is  gratifying  to  learn  that  before  long  such  a  history  may  be  ex 
pected, — if  indeed  it  should  not  appear  before  the  publication  of  this 
work, — from  the  pen  of  our  accomplished  countryman  Mr.  J.  Lothrop 
Motley,  who  during  the  last  few  years,  for  the  better  prosecution  of 
his  labors,  has  established  his  residence  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
scenes  of  his  narrative.  No  one  acquainted  with  the  fine  powers  of 
mind  possessed  by  this  scholar,  and  the  earnestness  with  which  he  has 
devoted  himself  to  his  task,  can  doubt  that  he  will  do  full  justice  to  his 
important  but  difficult  subject. 


PREFACE.  xiii 

the  whole  of  his  long  reign ;  and  it  is  only  by  keeping 
this  constantly  in  view  that  the  student  will  be  enabled 
to  obtain  a  clue  to  guide  him  through  the  intricate 
passages  in  the  history  of  Philip,  and  the  best  means 
of  solving  what  would  otherwise  remain  enigmatical  in 
his  conduct. 

In  the  composition  of  the  work  I  have  for  the  most 
part  conformed  to  the  plan  which  I  had  before  adopted. 
Far  from  confining  myself  to  a  record  of  political  events, 
I  have  endeavored  to  present  a  picture  of  the  intellec 
tual  culture  and  the  manners  of  the  people.  I  have 
not  even  refused  such  aid  as  could  be  obtained  from 
the  display  of  pageants  and  court  ceremonies,  which, 
although  exhibiting  little  more  than  the  costume  of  the 
time,  may  serve  to  bring  the  outward  form  of  a  pic 
turesque  age  more  vividly  before  the  eye  of  the  reader. 
In  the  arrangement  of  the  narrative  I  have  not  confined 
myself  altogether  to  the  chronological  order  of  events, 
but  have  thrown  them  into  masses,  according  to  the 
subjects  to  which  they  relate,  so  as  to  produce  as  far  as 
possible  a  distinct  impression  on  the  reader.  And  in 
this  way  I  have  postponed  more  than  one  matter  of 
importance  to  a  later  portion  of  the  work,  which  a 
strict  regard  to  time  would  assign  more  properly  to  an 
earlier  division  of  the  subject.  Finally,  I  have  been 
careful  to  fortify  the  text  with  citations  from  the  origi 
nal  authorities  on  which  it  depends,  especially  where 
these  are  rare  and  difficult  of  access. 

In  the  part  relating  to  the  Netherlands  I  have  pur 
sued  a  course  somewhat  different  from  what  I  have 
done  in  other  parts  of  the  work.  The  scholars  of  that 
country,  in  a  truly  patriotic  spirit,  have  devoted  them- 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — B 


xiv  PREFACE. 

selves  of  late  years  to  exploring  their  own  archives, 
as  well  as  those  of  Simancas,  for  the  purpose  of  illus 
trating  their  national  annals.  The  results  they  have 
given  to  the  world  in  a  series  of  publications,  which 
are  still  in  progress.  The  historian  has  reason  to  be 
deeply  grateful  to  those  pioneers,  whose  labors  have  put 
him  in  possession  of  materials  which  afford  the  most 
substantial  basis  for  his  narrative.  For  what  basis  can 
compare  with  that  afforded  by  the  written  correspond 
ence  of  the  parties  themselves?  It  is  on  this  sure 
ground  that  I  have  mainly  relied  in  this  part  of  my 
story;  and  I  have  adopted  the  practice  of  incorpor 
ating  extracts  from  the  letters  in  the  body  of  the  text, 
which,  if  it  may  sometimes  give  an  air  of  prolixity  to 
the  narrative,  will  have  the  advantage  of  bringing  the 
reader  into  a  sort  of  personal  acquaintance  with  the 
actors,  as  he  listens  to  the  words  spoken  by  them 
selves. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  this  Preface  I  have  made  the 
acknowledgments  due  for  assistance  I  have  received  in 
the  collection  of  my  materials ;  and  I  must  not  now 
conclude  without  recording  my  obligations,  of  another 
kind,  to  two  of  my  personal  friends, — Mr.  Charles 
Folsom,  the  learned  librarian  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum, 
who  has  repeated  the  good  offices  he  had  before  ren 
dered  me  in  revising  my  manuscript  for  the  press ; 
and  Mr.  John  Foster  Kirk,  whose  familiarity  with  the 
history  and  languages  of  Modern  Europe  has  greatly 
aided  me  in  the  prosecution  of  my  researches,  while 
his  sagacious  criticism  has  done  me  no  less  service  in 
the  preparation  of  these  volumes. 

Notwithstanding  the  advantages  I  have  enjoyed  for 


PREFACE.  xv 

the  composition  of  this  work,  and  especially  those 
derived  from  the  possession  of  new  and  original  ma 
terials,  I  am  fully  sensible  that  I  am  far  from  having 
done  justice  to  a  subject  so  vast  in  its  extent  and  so 
complicated  in  its  relations.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
urge  in  my  defence  any  physical  embarrassments  under 
which  I  labor ;  since  that  will  hardly  be  an  excuse  for 
not  doing  well  what  it  was  not  necessary  to  do  at  all. 
But  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  that  what  I  have  done 
has  been  the  result  of  careful  preparation  ;  that  I  have 
endeavored  to  write  in  a  spirit  of  candor  and  good 
faith ;  and  that,  whatever  may  be  the  deficiencies  of 
my  work,  it  can  hardly  fail — considering  the  advan 
tages  I  have  enjoyed  over  my  predecessors — to  present 
the  reader  with  such  new  and  authentic  statements  of 
facts  as  may  afford  him  a  better  point  of  view  than 
that  which  he  has  hitherto  possessed  for  surveying  the 
history  of  Philip  the  Second. 

BOSTON,  July,  1855. 


CONTENTS    OF    VOL.    I. 


BOOK    I. 

CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE 

ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH    .       .       ,       ,       .  i 

Rise  of  the  Spanish  Empire                    .                  .         .         .  2 
Internal  Tranquillity  of  Spain  .       ..  .     ,. "        .        .        .        .3 

Charles  V.  not  a  Spaniard     .- 3 

State  of  Europe  at  his  Accession 4 

His  Warlike  Career 5 

Reverses  of  his  Later  Years       .         .         .  ,         .         .6 

His  111  Health  and  Melancholy 7 

,    He  determines  to  abdicate         .;,,..        .         .         .         .  8 

Convenes  the  Estates  of  the  Netherlands      .    -     »  u    .    ,    .*   .  9 

His  Appearance  in  the  Assembly      .        ;      :  .->• .  .•»--:.;.i. ,-.\-    .  10 

Speech  to  the  Deputies           .         ,;;.-«     ;  ,•-;;    /,  ,  -   »'. ;•  ,,  13 

Address  to  Philip       .........  15 

Emotions  of  the  Audience 15 

Speeches  of  Philip  and  Granvelle 16 

Charles  resigns  the  Crown  of  Spain      .....  17 

Retains  the  Title  of  Emperor 18 

Leaves  the  Netherlands 18 

Arrives  at  Laredo 19 

His  Journey  to  Valladolid 20 

He  takes  Leave  of  his  Family  .        .        .        •.        .        .        .21 

His  Stay  at  Jarandilla 22 

Description  of  Yuste          ........  23 

B*  (  xvii  ) 


xviii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    II. 

PAGE 

EARLY  DAYS  OF  PHILIP  .       .       .       .      • .       .       .       .25 

Birth  of  Philip  II 25 

Recognition  as  Heir  to  the  Crown 27 

His  Tutors 28 

Death  of  his  Mother 30 

His  early  Familiarity  with  Affairs 32 

First  Lesson  in  War 33 

He  is  made  Regent        .         .         .         .         ...         .         .  34 

His  Father's  Counsel  to  him      .......  34 

Bride  selected  for  Philip 36 

The  Infanta  sets  out  for  Castile 37 

Arrives  at  Salamanca 38 

Royal  Marriage 39 

Death  of  the  Princess 40 

Philip  summoned  to  Flanders 41 

Remodels  his  Household 42 

Arrives  at  Genoa 44 

Receives  Embassies       .         .     - 44 

Entertainment  at  Milan 46 

Honors  paid  him  on  the  Route     ......  48 

Reception  at  Brussels        ........  49 

Charles  his  Instructor  in  Politics 50 

Tour  through  the  Provinces 51 

Loyal  Demonstrations 52 

Tourney  in  Brussels S3 

Philip's  Skill  with  the  Lance 56 

His  Dislike  to  Active  Exercises         .        .        .        .        .        -57 

Unpopularity  in  Flanders      .......  58 

Scheme  for  securing  to  him  the  Imperial  Crown       .         .         .59 

Ferdinand  refuses  to  waive  his  Claims 59 

Philip  disliked  by  the  Germans 60 

The  Project  unpopular  in  Spain 61 

Private  Compact 62 

Philip  leaves  the  Netherlands 63 

Resumes  the  Government  of  Spain  ......  64 

State  of  Spain       .........  65 

Strength  of  the  National  Spirit 66 

Philip  the  Type  of  the  Spanish  Character    ....  67 


CONTENTS.  xix 
CHAPTER    III. 

PAGE 

ENGLISH  ALLIANCE 68 

Religious  Revolution  in  England         ....       ,4,;  68 
Indifference  of  the  People       .         .         .        ...        .        .69 

Micheli's  Description  of  England 70 

His  Portrait  of  Mary       ........  72 

Her  Bigotry         .........  75 

Proofs  of  her  Sincerity    ........  75 

Her  Treatment  of  Elizabeth 76 

Persecution  of  the  Protestants         ......  78 

Charles  V.'s  Relations  with  Mary         .....  79 

Scheme  for  uniting  her  to  Philip     .         .         .         .         .         .81 

Crafty  Mode  of  Proceeding        ......  81 

Coquetry  of  Mary  ....'.....  82 

Offer  of  Philip's  Hand 84 

Efforts  to  prevent  the  Match 86 

Mary's  Vow        ...       „•     •  .«         .         .         .         .         .         .  88 

Remonstrance  of  the  Commons      ......  88 

Egmont's  Embassy     ...>......  89 

Mary's  Prudery        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .90 

The  Marriage-Treaty  ........  91 

Popular  Discontent           ........  92 

Insurrection          .........  93 

The  Queen's  Intrepidity  ........  93 

The  Rebels  defeated   .         .        .  <<  /.  ?  \  '.}       ...  95 

CHAPTER    IV. 

ENGLISH  ALLIANCE  . 97 

Ratification  of  the  Treaty   .         .         .         .         .         .         .  97 

Mary's  Message  to  Philip         .         .         .         .         .  .98 

His  Disinclination  to  the  Match           .....  98 

He  sends  an  Embassy  to  Mary loo 

Joanna  made  Regent  of  Spain 101 

.     Her  Character .                  .  102 

Philip  sails  for  England        .         .         .         .         .         .         .  103 

Lands  at  Southampton     ........  104 


xx  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

His  Reception 105 

His  Affability 106 

Progress  to  Winchester 107 

Interviews  with  Mary      ........     109 

The  Marriage-Ceremony  performed no 

Banquet  and  Ball    .        .         .         .         .         .         .         .        .112 

Public  Entry  into  London  .......          114 

Residence  at  Hampton  Court          .         .         .        .        .         .116 

Philip's  Discretion       ........         117 

Punctiliousness  in  Religious  Observances        .         .         .         .118 

Sincerity  of  his  Religious  Belief          .         .     •    .         .         .          119 
Arrival  of  the  Legate      .         .         .         .         .        .        .        .120 

Character  of  Pole 120 

Meeting  of  Parliament 121 

England  reconciled  to  the  Church 122 

Persecution 123 

Denounced  by  the  King's  Confessor 123 

Philip's  Influence  with  Mary 125 

Her  Pregnancy  announced 126 

Mortifying  Result 127 

Philip's  Discontent 127 

Unpopularity  of  the  Spaniards 128 

Philip  leaves  England          .......          129 

Arrives  at  Brussels  .........     130 


CHAPTER    V. 

WAR  WITH  THE  POPE    . 131 

Extent  of  Philip's  Possessions 131 

His  Powerful  Position     ........  132 

Absolute  Authority 133 

Relations  with  the  Pope  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .134 

Early  History  of  Paul  IV 134 

His  Enmity  to  the  Emperor 136 

Denunciations  of  the  Spaniards 137 

Character  of  the  Pope .138 

His  Nephews 140 

Relations  with  France 141 

Character  of  Henry  II.       .        .        .        .        .        .        .  142 


CONTENTS.  xxi 

PAGE 

The  Constable  Montmorency 142 

Francis,  Duke  of  Guise 143 

Caraffa  succeeds  in  his  Mission 144 

Terms  of  the  Treaty 145 

Spaniards  maltreated  by  Paul 146 

Alva  Viceroy  of  Naples               .,       .*....  147 

His  Early  Career    .         .         .....        .        .        .        .  148 

His  Military  Talents  .........  149 

Council  of  Theologians 150 

Sanctions  Retaliatory  Measures  .         .         .         ...         .  151 

Alva  issues  a  Manifesto 152 

Musters  an  Army 153 

Enters  the  Papal  Territory 153 

Rapid  Successes           .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  154 

Paul's  Fiery  Temper        .         ..»',..»         .         .         .  155 

The  Papal  Forces        .........  156 

Ostia  besieged          .         .         .         .         .       ,.        .        .        .  158 

Unsuccessful  Assault  .        .        .        .        .         .         .         .  159 

The  Place  surrenders      .                 .         .        .       ,.        »        .  160 

Negotiations  and  Truce       .         .         .         ...        .        .  161 


CHAPTER    VI. 

WAR  WITH  THE  POPE 162 

The  French  Army 162 

The  Italian  Powers           ....    <    v .      .  ,-     .         .  163 

Duke  of  Ferrara  breaks  with  Guise     .         .     '    •       ;».  ; ..   ^  164 

Paul  renews  the  War       .        »•-*•..'  '•*:•  .>  ».;    •  r--      •        •  165 

Campli  taken  by  the  French        ......  165 

Italy  in  the  Sixteenth  Century          ......  166 

Guise  lays  Siege  to  Civitella        ......  167 

Discontents  in  the  French  Army      ......  169 

Alva's  Preparations     .         .        ,         .         .         ...         .  170 

He  takes  the  Field 172 

Raises  the  Siege  of  Civitella        ......  173 

Retreat  of  the  French      ........  174 

Alva's  Slow  Pursuit     ........  174 

Successes  of  Colonna      .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .176 

Capture  and  Sack  of  Segni 176 


xxii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Paul  refuses  to  make  Concessions   .         .        .        .         .         .177 

Alva  plans  an  Attack  on  Rome  ......  178 

Abandons  the  Design      ........  179 

Various  Opinions  as  to  the  Affair 180 

Alarm  of  the  Romans 181 

Departure  of  Guise 182 

Negotiations  opened 182 

Concessions  made  by  Alva 183 

He  enters  Rome 184 

Receives  Absolution  from  the  Pope 184 

Results  of  the  War 185 

Paul  the  Chief  Sufferer       .        . 186 

His  Treatment  of  his  Kinsmen 187 

Rigid  Church-Discipline      .         .         .         .         .         .         .  188 

Riots  at  his  Death 188 

His  Patriotism 189 


CHAPTER   VII. 

WAR  WITH  FRANCE 190 

Preparations  in  the  Netherlands 190 

Philip  visits  England 191 

Pretexts  for  War  with  France      .        .        .        ...  192 

War  proclaimed       .        .        .        •»        •.        .         .        .         .192 

Mary's  Forlorn  Condition 193 

Excuses  for  her  Errors 193 

Forces  raised  by  Philip 194 

Duke  of  Savoy  appointed  General 196 

His  Character      .        .        . 196 

Plan  of  the  Campaign     ........  198 

St.  Quentin  invested 198 

Coligni  undertakes  the  Defence       ......  199 

Condition  of  the  Place         .......  200 

Attempt  to  reinforce  it     ........  202 

Montmorency  brings  up  his  Army      .....  203 

Takes  up  a  Position        ........  203 

Sends  Troops  across  the  Somme 204 

Cavalry  detached  against  him 206 

His  Self-Confidence 207 


CONTENTS.  xxiii 

PAGS 

He  endeavors  to  retire 208 

Is  overtaken  by  Egmont 208 

Battle  of  St.  Quentin -  .  209 

French  Cavalry  routed 210 

The  Infantry  makes  a  Stand 211 

Overpowered  by  Numbers 211 

Dreadful  Carnage 212 

Retreat  to  La  Fere 212 

The  Victory  complete 214 

Philip  visits  the  Camp          .         .        ...         .         .  214 

Disposes  of  the  Prisoners 216 

Proposal  to  march  on  Paris 217 

Rejected  by  Philip 218 

Siege  of  St.  Quentin  resumed      .         .         .         .  .  218 

Efforts  of  the  Besieged 219 

Preparations  for  the  Assault 220 

Struggle  at  the  Breaches 221 

Capture  of  the  Town  .        .••.-' 222 

Maltreatment  of  the  Inhabitants 223 

Philip  protects  them 224 

Further  Successes 226 

Operations  suspended 227 

Results  of  the  Campaign 228 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

WAR  WITH  FRANCE     j  ..;(  'i';~;;  /.!.{/},       .        .        .229 

National  Spirit  aroused  in  France 229 

New  Army  raised    .     l>  '.  ;:  "•  ;*•'•  ' .' 2oO 

Desire  to  recover  Calais 2oO 

Its  Defenceless  State        .         . 2oi 

Capture  of  the  Forts 232 

Surrender  of  the  Town   .         .         .         .  .        .         .232 

Sensation  in  England  and  France 232 

Inactivity  of  Guise 234 

Foray  into  Flanders     .......  235 

Retreat  of  the  French  intercepted 237 

Dispositions  of  Thermes 237 

Battle  of  Gravelines 


xxiv  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Overthrow  of  the  French    .......  240 

Spoils  of  Victory 241 

The  Monarchs  take  the  Field      .        .        .        .'                .  242 

Both  weary  of  the  War 243 

Their  Financial  Embarrassments 244 

Religious  Difficulties        ........  245 

Negotiations  opened    ........  246 

Congress  meets  at  Cercamps  .         .         .         .         .         .         .  247 

Death  of  Mary  Tudor 248 

Feria's  Mission  to  England     .......  249 

Mary's  Character 250 

Micheli's  Portrait  of  Elizabeth 252 

Philip  offers  her  his  Hand  .         .         .         .         .         .         .  254 

Remonstrates  against  Religious  Changes         ....  255 

His  Suit  unsuccessful  ........  256 

Negotiations  at  Cateau-Cambresis 257 

Difficulties  in  Regard  to  Calais 258 

Question  brought  to  an  Issue 259 

Treaty  signed 260 

Terms  advantageous  to  Philip 261 

His  Reputation  increased 262 

Marriage-Contract  with  Isabella 264 

Elizabeth  of  England  p'qued 265 

Marriage  of  Philip  by  Proxy  .        .                 .        .                 .  266 

Death  of  Henry  II 268 


CHAPTER    IX. 

LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH      .       .       .       .270 

The  Jeronymite  Convent  at  Yuste 271 

The  Buildings  enlarged 272 

Furniture  of  Charles's  Apartments      .         .         .      ;.;,-.,  273 

Works  of  Art 274 

The  Emperor's  Garden 275 

Present  Appearance  of  Yuste 277 

The  Emperor's  Arrival 2?8 

His  Household 279 

Mode  of  employing  his  Time 281 

His  Devotion  .                           283 


CONTENTS.  xxv 

PAGE 

Fondness  for  Music     .         .         .         .                           .         .  284 

Turn  for  Mechanical  Arts        ...        .        .        .        .285 

His  Timepieces 285 

Reception  of  Visitors 286 

Erroneous  Opinions  respecting  his  Seclusion       .         .         .  288 

Advice  sought  by  the  Government  .         .        .        .                 .  289 

His  Anxiety  during  the  War       .         .         .         .        »         .  290 

Projects  respecting  Portugal 291 

He  assists  in  raising  Supplies 292 

Denounces  Delinquents  at  Seville 293 

State  of  his  Health    ,.-.., 294 

Death  of  Queen  Eleanor       , .     .  , 295 

Charles's  Bigotry  and  Intolerance       .....  296 

Declining  Health     .         .               , .     •-•'.  ^-7  V^  •  '*•        .         .  297 

Rehearsal  of  his  Obsequies          ......  297 

Not  mentioned  in  Letters         .      , .    •?•';.  *        .         .         .        .  299 

Authority  for  the  Story 299 

Misstatement  of  Dates     .                  .        ^  :-'>    '.-.."'•••<        .  301 

Morbid  Tastes  of  Charles  .       ..        .      < •*•- :--;«.  •,'  *. "'-'•>•  3°2 

His  Last  Illness       .         .         .        »•  ;    *;-   »  ;  V  *        .        .  303 

He  arranges  his  Affairs        .......  3°4 

His  Injunctions  to  Philip         .......  3°S 

Religious  Preparations         .         .        .        .        .        .         .  3°6 

His  Death 3°7 

Disposal  of  his  Remains 308 

Funeral  Honors  at  Brussels     .         .         .       'V-    ',\:    •'       .  309 

Peculiarities  of  Charles 312 

His  Tardy  Development 312 

His  Self-Reliance        *      .•-.  .  .*.  "<.  ."  .V       ....  314 

Vastness  of  his  Schemes 315 

His  Gluttony       .-•       .•       .        .        .      •'.     'v       '.        .  316 

His  Memoirs  .         .         .         .         »;    ^8^>?-4?^   •>»°       .         .  3J9 

Translation  of  a  French  Poem    .....        .        .        .  320 

Desire  of  Posthumous  Fame  .        .  ?      ,        .        .        .         .322 

His  Bigotry          .  - 324 

Manuscript  Work  of  Gonzalez 325 

Stirling,  Amedee  Pichot,  and  Mignet          ....  326 

Philip. — VOL.  I. — C  2 


xxvi  CONTENTS. 

BOOK    II. 
CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE 

VIEW  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS 329 

Provinces  of  the  Netherlands 330 

Condition  in  the  Middle  Ages 331 

Not  fused  into  a  Nation 332 

A  Confederacy  of  States 332 

Power  of  the  Sovereign 333 

Ascendency  of  Charles  V 334 

Manufactures  of  the  Netherlands 336 

Extent  of  their  Commerce 337 

Antwerp  the  Commercial  Capital 338 

Prosperity  of  all  Classes  . 340 

Diffusion  of  Education        . 341 

Introduction  of  Protestantism 341 

Laws  for  its  Suppression 342 

Establishment  of  an  Inquisition 344 

Different  from  the  Spanish         ..." 345 

Number  of  its  Victims    .       ....      ..      ....        .        .  346 

Injury  to  Trade  .       ..       ..       ..       ..        .    :  ,i     ..»-..-     .  348 

Revenues  of  the  Netherlands 349 

CHAPTER    II. 

SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED  BY  PHILIP 351 

Philip  visits  the  Provinces   .         .         .         .  .      .  .      .        i '  .  351 

His  Chilling  Demeanor  .         .         .        .        .' '      v        .        .  352 

He  renews  the  Edicts  .         .         .         .         .  .,    . .         .  353 

The  Ecclesiastical  Establishment    .  .      .  ,      . .      .        .        .  353 

Scheme  of  New  Bishoprics 354 

Philip's  Financial  Policy  .......  355 

Candidates  for  the  Regency 356 

Margaret  of  Parma 357 

Her  Education  and  Early  Career  .        .  358 


CONTENTS.  xxvii 

PAGE 

Her  Character         .         .                 . 359 

She  arrives  at  Brussels 361 

The  States-General  at  Ghent 362 

Remonstrate  against  Spanish  Garrisons       ....  363 

Philip's  Displeasure 364 

He  takes  Leave  of  the  States 366 

Instructions  to  the  Regent       .......  367 

Her  chief  Advisers      ........  368 

Granvelle         .        .        .        .        .        ...        .        .         .  370 

Early  distinguished      ........  371 

Succeeds  his  Father         ........  372 

Obtains  the  Confidence  of  Philip        .....  374 

Philip  completes  his  Arrangements 376 

Leaves  the  Netherlands .378 


CHAPTER    III. 

PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN      .......       .       .       .380 

The  Royal  Fleet  wrecked 380 

Philip's  Narrow  Escape  .         *>.«•«'       .         .         .         .  380 

He  resumes  the  Government 381 

Spain  affected  by  the  Reformation           .         .         .         .         .  382 

Circulation  of  Protestant  Books          .        .        .         .        .  383 

Powers  of  the  Inquisition  enlarged 385 

The  Reformers  detected      .         .        .         .         .                 .  386 

Great  Number  arrested   .       V   '••  •  -"•••"-."''    ;        .        .         .  387 

Disclosures  extorted 388 

Autos  de  Fe     .         .     '•  .   • .    •„        .  •  -''-..   .'..        .        .         .389 

Description  of  one  at  Valladolid         .  :  :   .  \      ,        .        .  390 

The  Procession        .'        i  •-."•";- !--\--~' ^gi 

Assembly  in  the  Square       .         .         .         .         '.                  .  392 

The  Sermon  and  the  Oath 392 

The  "  Reconciled" 393 

The  Martyrs 394 

Carlos  de  Seso 395 

Domingo  de  Roxas          ,        .        «        .                 .        .        .  397 

Place  of  Execution 398 

Bartolome  Carranza         ..»«....  400 

Suspicions  of  his  Orthodoxy 402 


xxviii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

His  Arrest 403 

Council  of  Trent  remonstrates 404 

Cause  carried  to  Rome 405 

Decision  of  Gregory  XIII.           .         .         .         ...         .  406 

Carranza's  Death 406 

Heresy  extinguished  in  Spain 408 

Effects  of  the  Persecution 410 


CHAPTER    IV. 

PHILIP'S  THIRD  MARRIAGE 412 

Isabella  arrives  in  Spain       .         .         .         .         .         .         .  412 

Preparations  to  welcome  her  .......  414 

Meeting  with  Philip     ........  415 

Her  Beauty 416 

Don  Carlos >    .        .  417 

Festivities  at  Guadalajara        .         .        .    .    .        •        .         .  418 

Reception  at  Toledo 419 

The  Spanish  Character 421 

Illness  of  Isabella 421 

Her  Popularity         . 422 

Taste  and  Profusion  in  Dress 424 

Custom  of  Dining  in  Public    ...        .        .        .•       *.       .  425 

The  Capital  of  Spain ;,        *  426 

Madrid  exalted  by  the  Spaniards    ......  42^ 

Different  View  of  Foreigners       .         .         .         .         .         .  429 

CHAPTER    V. 

DISCONTENT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS 431 

The  Reformation         .         .        .        .;,...»"..  431 

Philip  its  Great  Opponent        .  ..     .....      •;      •        •        •  432 

Orthodoxy  of  the  Spaniards 433 

Different  Spirit  in  the  Netherlands 434 

Philip's  Course  erroneous    .......  437 

Elements  of  Discontent  ........  438 

Antipathy  to  the  Spaniards          ......  439 

Need  of  a  Considerate  Policy 440 


CONTENTS.  xxix 

PAGE 

The  Prince  of  Orange .  44* 

Educated  at  Court .442 

Esteemed  by  Charles  V 443 

Opposed  to  the  Designs  of  Philip   ......  444 

Mutual  Aversion .        .  445 

William's  Second  Marriage 447 

His  Convivial  Habits           .         .         .         .         .         .         .  448 

Impenetrable  Reserve      ........  449 

Tact  and  Eloquence    ....*...  449 

Indifference  to  Religion 45° 

Tolerant  Spirit 45* 


CHAPTER   VI. 

OPPOSITION  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT 452 

Detention  of  the  Spanish  Troops 452 

Their  Lax  Discipline     •.-,-" 453 

The  Regent  dismisses  them 454 

Dilatoriness  of  Philip       .      '  .    •  •  .    -  •  .        .        .        .        .  455 

New  Ecclesiastical  System       -  •  .    <    .         .        .        .        .  455 

Obstacles  to  its  Introduction 458 

Odium  cast  on  Granvelle     .......  459 

His  Position  and  Authority     .......  461 

Mode  of  conducting  Affairs         ......  462 

Sumptuous  Style  of  Living     .*,....  463 

Complaints  of  Orange  and  Egmont    .....  464 

Religious  Troubles  in  France          . ' :     .        .        .        .         .  465 

Meeting  of  the  Golden  Fleece    .        .        .        ...  468 

Montigny  sent  to  Spain  .        .        .        .    /   .     -  V;       .        .  469 

Open  Hostility  to  Granvelle        .        .    •.  v     ;  ,        .        .  470 

Montigny's  Report       w.    ;-.»    ;  -..s. 472 

Suggestions  of  Philip         •..-.«. 473 

Calvinist  Propagandism  . 474 

Tumult  at  Valenciennes 475 

Difficulty  of  executing  the  Edicts 477 

Granvelle's  Unpopularity    .        .        .        .        .        .        .  478 

C* 


xxx  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

PAGE 

GRANVELLE  COMPELLED  TO  WITHDRAW      .       .       .       .480 

Continued  Attacks  on  Granvelle          .....  480 
League  formed  against  him     .         .         .         .         .         .         .481 

Petition  for  his  Removal 482 

Philip  requires  Specific  Charges 484 

Second  Letter  of  the  Lords         ......  485 

They  withdraw  from  the  Council     ......  488 

Granvelle  abandoned  by  the  Regent   .....  489 

His  Courage    ..........  491 

Feeling  at  Madrid       ........  492 

Alva's  Advice           .........  493 

Philip  hesitates     .........  494 

Margaret  presses  for  a  Decision       ......  494 

He  desires  Granvelle  to  withdraw       .....  496 

His  Haughty  Letter  to  the  Lords   ......  497 

Granvelle  announces  his  Departure     .....  499 

Joy  of  the  Country 499 

The  Liveries 500 

Granvelle  leaves  Brussels 501 

The  Lords  re-enter  the  Council 502 

Granvelle  in  Retirement           .         .  ,.     .         .         .         .         .  503 

The  Granvelle  Papers 505 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

CHANGES  DEMANDED  BY  THE  LORDS 509 

Philip's  Policy      . 509 

Causes  of  his  Unpopularity 510 

His  Inflexibility •        •  510 

Changes  in  the  Netherlands     ....        »,;-•»..     .  511 

Philip  a  Foreigner 512 

Zeal  of  the  Nobles 513 

Their  Influence  with  Margaret 514 

Opposition  of  Viglius 515 

Mutual  Accusations .        .  516 

Aims  of  the  Lords 519 


CONTENTS.  xxxi 

PAGE 

The  Edicts  unexecuted .  521 

Financial  Difficulties        .         .' 523 

The  Council  of  Trent          .         .        .                           .         .  524 

Opposition  to  its  Decrees 525 

Egmont's  Mission 526 

His  Instructions 528 

Discussion  in  the  Council    ....        «        .         .  529 

Pledge  of  Egmont's  Friends 53  * 

Banquet  at  Cambray S31 

Egmont's  Reception  at  Madrid       ......  532 

Question  propounded  by  Philip           .....  533 

Delusion  of  Egmont        .        .        .        .        .        .        .         .  534 

CHAPTER    IX. 

PHILIP'S  INFLEXIBILITY 536 

Result  of  Egmont's  Mission 536 

General  Dissatisfaction 537 

Margaret  remonstrates  with  the  King          ....  539 

His  Equivocal  Conduct 54° 

Granvelle's  Correspondence 541 

Granvelle  sent  to  Rome  .,.»«»..  542 

The  Royal  Determination  announced          .,      .         .         .  544 

The  Despatch  received  at  Brussels           .        »        •                 .  545 

Its  Publication 546 

Despair  of  the  People 547 

Seditious  Discussions 548 

The  Lower  Nobility 549 

The  Union  and  the  Compromise 55° 

The  Leaders  of  the  Party 552 

Its  Rapid  Increase 554 

Refusals  to  execute  the  Edicts 555 

Conference  of  Bayonne 557 

Its  Real  Object 557 

Panic  in  the  Netherlands .        .  559 

Painful  Situation  of  the  Regent       .         .               ,  -«.        .        .  560 

Her  Preparations  for  Defence      .         .         ,  V    .        •«  56j 

Temperate  Conduct  of  Orange       .        .      •  .        .        .        .  563 

Consultation  of  the  Nobles          .         .         .         *  •      «•        .  5^6 

Impulsive  Character  of  Egmont      .         ...         .         .  5^7 


xxxiv  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

general  air  of  the  person  is  mean.  The  elevation  of  the  shoulders 
amounts  almost  to  deformity ;  and  there  is  a  sheepish  expression  in 
the  countenance,  with  its  downcast  eye,  which  augurs  nothing  favor 
able,  in  an  intellectual  or  moral  point  of  view. 

The  portrait  of  the  Duke  of  Alva  is  copied  from  an  original  by 
Titian,  that  hangs  in  the  palace  of  the  present  duke.  It  is  eminently 
characteristic  of  the  man.  The  gaunt  person  is  sheathed  in  complete 
mail.  The  wiry  lineaments  of  the  countenance  seem  to  have  the  hard 
ness  of  steel.  One  sees  that  it  must  be  a  true  copy  of  the  iron-hearted 
chief  who  trampled  under  foot  the  liberties  of  the  Netherlands. 


HISTORY 

OF 

PHILIP    THE    SECOND, 


BOOK  I. 


CHAPTER    I. 

ABDICATION    OF    CHARLES   THE    FIFTH. 

Introductory  Remarks, — Spain  under  Charles  the  Fifth. — He  pre 
pares  to  resign  the  Crown.  —  His  Abdication.  —  His  Return  to 
Spain. — His  Journey  to  Yuste. 

1555- 

IN  a  former  work  I  have  endeavored  to  portray  the 
period  when  the  different  provinces  of  Spain  were 
consolidated  into  one  empire  under  the  rule  of  Ferdi 
nand  and  Isabella;  when,  by  their  wise  and  beneficent 
policy,  the  nation  emerged  from  the  obscurity  in 
which  it  had  so  long  remained  behind  the  Pyrenees, 
and  took  its  place  as  one  of  the  great  members  of  the 
European  commonwealth.  I  now  propose  to  examine 
a  later  period  in  the  history  of  the  same  nation, — the 
reign  of  Philip  the  Second ;  when,  with  resources 
greatly  enlarged,  and  territory  extended  by  a  brilliant 
career  of  discovery  and  conquest,  it  had  risen  to  the 
Philip.— VOL.  I.— A  i 


2         ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

zenith  of  its  power,  but  when,  under  the  mischievous 
policy  of  the  administration,  it  had  excited  the  jealousy 
of  its  neighbors,  and  already  disclosed  those  germs  of 
domestic  corruption  which  gradually  led  to  its  dis 
memberment  and  decay. 

By  the  marriage  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  most  of 
the  states  of  the  Peninsula  became  united  under  one 
common  rule;  and  in  1516  the  sceptre  of  Spain,  with 
its  dependencies  both  in  the  Old  and  the  New  World, 
passed  into  the  hands  of  their  grandson,  Charles  the 
Fifth,  who,  though  he  shared  the  throne  nominally 
with  his  mother,  Joanna,  became,  in  consequence  of 
her  incapacity,  the  real  sovereign  of  this  vast  empire. 
He  had  before  inherited,  through  his  father,  Philip 
the  Handsome,  that  fair  portion  of  the  ducal  realm  of 
Burgundy  which  comprehended  Franche-Comte  and 
the  Netherlands.  In  1519  he  was  elected  to  the  im 
perial  crown  of  Germany.  Not  many  years  elapsed 
before  his  domain  was  still  further  enlarged  by  the 
barbaric  empires  of  Mexico  and  Peru;  and  Spain  then 
first  realized  the  magnificent  vaunt,  since  so  often  re 
peated,  that  the  sun  never  set  within  the  borders  of 
her  dominions. 

Yet  the  importance  of  Spain  did  not  rise  with  the 
importance  of  her  acquisitions.  She  was,  in  a  manner, 
lost  in  the  magnitude  of  these  acquisitions.  Some  of 
the  rival  nations  which  owned  the  sway  of  Charles,  in 
Europe,  were  of  much  greater  importance  than  Spain, 
and  attracted  much  more  attention  from  their  contem 
poraries.  In  the  earlier  period  of  that  monarch's  reign 
there  was  a  moment  when  a  contest  was  going  forward 
in  Castile,  of  the  deepest  interest  to  mankind.  Un- 


SPAIN  UNDER    CHARLES    THE   FIFTH.  3 

fortunately,  the  "War  of  the  Comunidades"  as  it  was 
termed,  was  soon  closed  by  the  ruin  of  the  patriots ; 
and  on  the  memorable  field  of  Villalar  the  liberties  of 
Spain  received  a.  blow  from  which  they  were  destined 
not  to  recover  for  centuries.  From  that  fatal  hour — 
the  bitter  fruit  of  the  jealousy  of  castes  and  the  pas 
sions  of  the  populace — an  unbroken  tranquillity  reigned 
throughout  the  country;  such  a  tranquillity  as  naturally 
flows  not  from  a  free  and  well-conducted  government, 
but  from  a  despotic  one.  In  this  political  tranquillity, 
however,  the  intellect  of  Spain  did  not  slumber.  Shel 
tered  from  invasion  by  the  barrier  of  the  Pyrenees,  her 
people  were  allowed  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace,  so 
long  as  they  did  not  meddle  with  politics  or  religion, 
— in  other  words,  with  the  great  interests  of  humanity; 
while  the  more  adventurous  found  a  scope  for  their 
prowess  in  European  wars,  or  in  exploring  the  bound 
less  regions  of  the  Western  world. 

While  there  was  so  little  passing  in  Spain  to  attract 
the  eye  of  the  historian,  Germany  became  the  theatre 
of  one  of  those  momentous  struggles  which  have  had 
a  permanent  influence  on  the  destinies  of  mankind. 
It  was  in  this  reign  that  the  great  battle  of  religious 
liberty  was  begun ;  and  the  attention  and  personal 
presence  of  Charles  were  necessarily  demanded  most 
in  the  country  where  that  battle  was  to  be  fought. 
But  a  small  part  of  his  life  was  passed  in  Spain  in 
comparison  with  what  he  spent  in  other  parts  of  his 
dominions.  His  early  attachments,  his  lasting  sym 
pathies,  were  with  the  people  of  the  Netherlands ;  for 
Flanders  was  the  place  of  his  birth.  He  spoke  the 
language  of  that  country  more  fluently  than  the  Cas- 


4         ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

tilian  ;  although  he  knew  the  various  languages  of  his 
dominions  so  well  that  he  could  address  his  subjects 
from  every  quarter  in  their  native  dialect.  In  the 
same  manner,  he  could  accommodate  himself  to  their 
peculiar  national  manners  and  tastes.  But  this  flexi 
bility  was  foreign  to  the  genius  of  the  Spaniard. 
Charles  brought  nothing  from  Spain  but  a  religious 
zeal,  amounting  to  bigotry,  which  took  deep  root  in  a 
melancholy  temperament  inherited  from  his  mother. 
His  tastes  were  all  Flemish.  He  introduced  the  gor 
geous  ceremonial  of  the  Burgundian  court  into  his  own 
palace,  and  into  the  household  of  his  son.  He  drew 
his  most  trusted  and  familiar  counsellors  from  Flanders; 
and  this  was  one  great  cause  of  the  troubles  which  at 
the  beginning  of  his  reign  distracted  Castile.  There 
was  little  to  gratify  the  pride  of  the  Spaniard  in  the 
position  which  he  occupied  at  the  imperial  court. 
Charles  regarded  Spain  chiefly  for  the  resources  she 
afforded  for  carrying  on  his  ambitious  enterprises. 
When  he  visited  her,  it  was  usually  to  draw  supplies 
from  the  cortes.  The  Spaniards  understood  this,  and 
bore  less  affection  to  his  person  than  to  many  of  their 
monarchs  far  inferior  to  him  in  the  qualities  for  ex 
citing  it.  They  hardly  regarded  him  as  one  of  the 
nation.  There  was,  indeed,  nothing  national  in  the 
reign  of  Charles.  His  most  intimate  relations  were 
with  Germany;  and  as  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth 
of  Germany,  not  as  King  Charles  the  First  of  Spain, 
he  was  known  in  his  own  time  and  stands  recorded  on 
the  pages  of  history. 

When  Charles  ascended  the  throne,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  Europe  may  be  said  to  have 


SPAIN  UNDER   CHARLES   THE  FIFTH.  5 

been  in  much  the  same  condition,  in  one  respect,  as 
she  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighth.  The  Turk 
menaced  her  on  the  east,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Arab  had  before  menaced  her  on  the  west.  The  hour 
seemed  to  be  fast  approaching  which  was  to  decide 
whether  Christianity  or  Mahometanism  should  hold 
the  ascendant.  The  Ottoman  tide  of  conquest  rolled 
up  to  the  very  walls  of  Vienna ;  and  Charles,  who,  as 
head  of  the  empire,  was  placed  on  the  frontier  of 
Christendom,  was  called  on  to  repel  it.  When  thirty- 
two  years  of  age,  he  marched  against  the  formidable 
Solyman,  drove  him  to  an  ignominious  retreat,  and, 
at  less  cost  of  life  than  is  often  expended  in  a  skir 
mish,  saved  Europe  from  an  invasion.  He  afterwards 
crossed  the  sea  to  Tunis,  then  occupied  by  a  horde  of 
pirates,  the  scourge  of  the  Mediterranean.  He  beat 
them  in  a  bloody  battle,  slew  their  chief,  and  liberated 
ten  thousand  captives  from  their  dungeons.  All  Europe 
rang  with  the  praises  of  the  young  hero  who  thus  con 
secrated  his  arms  to  the  service  of  the  Cross  and  stood 
forward  as  the  true  champion  of  Christendom. 

But  from  this  high  position  Charles  was  repeatedly 
summoned  to  other  contests,  of  a  more  personal  and 
far  less  honorable  character.  Such  was  his  long  and 
bloody  quarrel  with  Francis  the  First.  It  was  hardly 
possible  that  two  princes  so  well  matched  in  years, 
power,  pretensions,  and,  above  all,  love  of  military 
glory,  with  dominions  touching  on  one  another 
through  their  whole  extent,  could  long  remain  without 
cause  of  rivalry  and  collision.  Such  rivalry  did  exist 
from  the  moment  that  the  great  prize  of  the  empire 
was  adjudged  to  Charles:  and  through  the  whole  of 
i* 


6         ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

their  long  struggle,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  re 
verses,  the  superior  genius  of  the  emperor  triumphed 
over  his  bold  but  less  politic  adversary. 

There  was  still  a  third  contest,  on  which  the  strength 
of  the  Spanish  monarch  was  freely  expended  through 
the  greater  part  of  his  reign, — his  contest  with  the 
Lutheran  princes  of  Germany.  Here,  too,  for  a  long 
time,  fortune  favored  him.  But  it  is  easier  to  contend 
against  man  than  against  a  great  moral  principle.  The 
principle  of  reform  had  struck  too  deep  into  the  mind 
of  Germany  to  be  eradicated  by  force  or  by  fraud. 
Charles  for  a  long  time,  by  a  course  of  crafty  policy, 
succeeded  in  baffling  the  Protestant  league,  and  by  the 
decisive  victory  at  Muhlberg  seemed  at  last  to  have 
broken  it  altogether.  But  his  success  only  ministered 
to  his  ruin.  The  very  man  on  whom  he  bestowed  the 
spoils  of  victory  turned  them  against  his  benefactor. 
Charles,  ill  in  body  and  mind,  and  glad  to  escape 
from  his  enemies  under  cover  of  the  night  and  a  driv 
ing  tempest,  was  at  length  compelled  to  sign  the  treaty 
of  Passau,  which  secured  to  the  Protestants  those  re 
ligious  immunities  against  which  he  had  contended 
through  his  whole  reign. 

Not  long  after,  he  experienced  another  humiliating 
reverse  from  France,  then  ruled  by  a  younger  rival, 
Henry  the  Second,  the  son  of  Francis.  The  good 
star  of  Charles — the  star  of  Austria — seemed  to  have 
set ;  and,  as  he  reluctantly  raised  the  siege  of  Metz, 
he  was  heard  bitterly  to  exclaim,  "Fortune  is  a 
strumpet,  who  reserves  her  favors  for  the  young !" 

With  spirits  greatly  depressed  by  his  reverses,  and 
still  more  by  the  state  of  his  health,  which  precluded 


SPAIN   UNDER    CHARLES    THE  FIFTH.  7 

him  from  taking  part  in  the  manly  and  martial  exer 
cises  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed,  he  felt  that  he 
had  no  longer  the  same  strength  as  formerly  to  bear 
up  under  the  toils  of  empire.  When  but  little  more 
than  thirty  years  of  age,  he  had  been  attacked  by  the 
gout,  and  of  late  had  been  so  sorely  afflicted  with  that 
disorder  that  he  had  nearly  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs. 
The  man  who,  cased  in  steel,  had  passed  whole  days 
and  nights  in  the  saddle,  indifferent  to  the  weather 
and  the  season,  could  now  hardly  drag  himself  along 
with  the  aid  of  his  staff.  For  days  he  was  confined  to 
his  bed ;  and  he  did  not  leave  his  room  for  weeks  to 
gether.  His  mind  became  oppressed  with  melancholy, 
which  was  to  some  extent  a  constitutional  infirmity. 
His  chief  pleasure  was  in  listening  to  books,  especially 
of  a  religious  character.  He  denied  himself  to  all 
except  his  most  intimate  and  trusted  counsellors.  He 
lost  his  interest  in  affairs;  and  for  whole  months,  ac 
cording  to  one  of  his  biographers,  who  had  access  to 
his  person,  he  refused  to  receive  any  public  communi 
cation,  or  to  subscribe  any  document,  or  even  letter.1 
One  cannot  understand  how  the  business  of  the  nation 

1  "  Post  annum  aetatis  quinquagesimum,  prementibus  morbis,  tanto- 
pere  negotiorum  odium  cepit,  ut  diutius  interdum  nee  se  adiri  aut  con- 
veniri  prasterquam  ab  intimis  pateretur,  nee  libellis  subscribere  an i mum 
induceret,  non  sine  suspicione  mentis  imminutce  ;  itaque  constat  novem 
mensibus  nulli  nee  libello  nee  diplomat!  subscripsisse,  quod  cum  magno 
incommodo  reipublicae  populariumque  dispendio  fiebat,  eum  a  tot  nati- 
onibus,  et  quibusdam  longissime  jus  inde  peteretur,  et  certe  summa 
negotia  ad  ipsum  fere  rejicerentur."  (Sepulvedae  Opera  (Matriti, 
1780),  vol.  ii.  p.  539.)  The  author,  who  was  in  the  court  at  the  time, 
had  frequent  access  to  the  royal  presence,  and  speaks,  therefore,  from 
personal  observation. 


8        ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES   THE   FIFTH. 

could  have  been  conducted  in  such  a  state  of  things. 
After  the  death  of  his  mother,  Joanna,  his  mind  be 
came  more  deeply  tinctured  with  those  gloomy  fancies 
which  in  her  amounted  to  downright  insanity.  He 
imagined  he  heard  her  voice  calling  on  him  to  follow 
her.  His  thoughts  were  now  turned  from  secular  con 
cerns  to  those  of  his  own  soul ;  and  he  resolved  to  put 
in  execution  a  plan  for  resigning  his  crown  and  with 
drawing  to  some  religious  retreat,  where  he  might 
prepare  for  his  latter  end.  This  plan  he  had  con 
ceived  many  years  before,  in  the  full  tide  of  successful 
ambition.  So  opposite  were  the  elements  at  work  in 
the  character  of  this  extraordinary  man  ! 

Although  he  had  chosen  the  place  of  his  retreat,  he 
had  been  deterred  from  immediately  executing  his 
purpose  by  the  forlorn  condition  of  his  mother  and 
the  tender  age  of  his  son.  The  first  obstacle  was  now 
removed  by  the  death  of  Joanna,  after  a  reign — a 
nominal  reign — of  half  a  century,  in  which  the  cloud 
that  had  settled  on  her  intellect  at  her  husband's  death 
was  never  dispelled. 

The  age  of  Philip,  his  son  and  heir,  was  also  no 
longer  an  objection.  From  early  boyhood  he  had 
been  trained  to  the  duties  of  his  station,  and,  when 
very  young,  had  been  intrusted  with  the  government 
of  Castile.  His  father  had  surrounded  him  with  able 
and  experienced  counsellors,  and  their  pupil,  who 
showed  a  discretion  far  beyond  his  years,  had  largely 
profited  by  their  lessons.  He  had  now  entered  his 
twenty-ninth  year,  an  age  when  the  character  is 
formed,  and  when,  if  ever,  he  might  be  supposed 
qualified  to  assume  the  duties  of  government.  His 


CEREMONY  OF  ABDICATION.  9 

father  had  already  ceded  to  him  the  sovereignty  of 
Naples  and  Milan,  on  occasion  of  the  prince's  mar 
riage  with  Mary  of  England.  He  was  on  a  visit  to 
that  country,  when  Charles,  having  decided  on  the  act 
of  abdication,  sent  to  require  his  son's  attendance  at 
Brussels,  where  the  ceremony  was  to  be  performed. 
The  different  provinces  of  the  Netherlands  were  also 
summoned  to  send  their  deputies,  with  authority  to 
receive  the  emperor's  resignation  and  to  transfer  their 
allegiance  to  his  successor.  As  a  preliminary  step,  on 
the  twenty-second  of  October,  1555,  he  conferred  on 
Philip  the  grand-mastership — which,  as  lord  of  Flan 
ders,  was  vested  in  himself — of  the  toison  d'or,  the 
order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  of  Burgundy,  the  proud 
est  and  most  coveted,  at  that  day,  of  all  the  military 
orders  of  knighthood. 

Preparations  were  then  made  for  conducting  the 
ceremony  of  abdication  with  all  the  pomp  and  so 
lemnity  suited  to  so  august  an  occasion.  The  great 
hall  of  the  royal  palace  of  Brussels  was  selected  for 
the  scene  of  it.  The  walls  of  the  spacious  apartment 
were  hung  with  tapestry,  and  the  floor  was  covered 
with  rich  carpeting.  A  scaffold  was  erected  at  one 
end  of  the  room,  to  the  height  of  six  or  seven  steps. 
On  it  was  placed  a  throne,  or  chair  of  state,  for  the 
emperor,  with  other  seats  for  Philip  and  for  the  great 
Flemish  lords  who  were  to  attend  the  person  of  their 
sovereign.  Above  the  throne  was  suspended  a  gorgeous 
canopy,  on  which  were  emblazoned  the  arms  of  the 
ducal  house  of  Burgundy.  In  front  of  the  scaffold 
ing,  accommodations  were  provided  for  the  deputies 
of  the  provinces,  who  were  to  be  seated  on  benches 
A* 


io      ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

arranged  according  to  their  respective  rights  of  pre 
cedence.2 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  October,  the  day  fixed  for 
the  ceremony,  Charles  the  Fifth  executed  an  instru 
ment  by  which  he  ceded  to  his  son  the  sovereignty  of 
the  Netherlands.3  Mass  was  then  performed  ;  and  the 
emperor,  accompanied  by  Philip  and  a  numerous  reti 
nue,  proceeded  in  state  to  the  great  hall,  where  the 
deputies  were  already  assembled.4 

Charles  was  at  this  time  in  the  fifty-sixth  year  of 
his  age.  His  form  was  slightly  bent, — but  it  was  by 
disease  more  than  by  time, — and  on  his  countenance 
might  be  traced  the  marks  of  anxiety  and  rough  ex 
posure.  Yet  it  still  wore  that  majesty  of  expression  so 
conspicuous  in  his  portraits  by  the  inimitable  pencil 
of  Titian.  His  hair,  once  of  a  light  color,  approach 
ing  to  yellow,  had  begun  to  turn  before  he  was  forty, 

2  A  minute  account  of  this  imposing  ceremony  is  to  be  found  in  a 
MS.  in  the  Archives  of  Simancas,  now  published  in  the  Colecoion  de 
Documentos  ineditos  para  la  Historia  de  Espaiia  (Madrid,  1845),  torn, 
vii.  p.  534  et  seq.     An  official  report  of  the  proceedings,  prepared 
by  order  of  the  government,  and  preserved  at  Brussels,  in  the  Archives 
du  Royaume,  has  been  published  by  M.  Gachard  in  his  valuable  collec 
tion,  Analectes  Belgiques  (Paris,  1830),  pp.  75-81. 

3  A  copy  of  the  original  deed  of  abdication  was  preserved  among 
the  papers  of  Cardinal  Granvelle,  at  Besan9on,  and  is  incorporated  in 
the  valuable  collection  of  documents  published  by  order  of  the  French 
government  under  the  direction  of  the  learned  Weiss,  Papiers  d'6tat 
du  Cardinal  de  Granvelle,  d'apres  les  Manuscrits  de  la  Bibliotheque 
de  Besan9on  (Paris,  1843),  torn.  iv.  p.  486. 

4  It  is  strange  that  the  precise  date  of  an  event  of  such  notoriety  as 
the  abdication  of  Charles  the  Fifth  should  be  a  matter  of  discrepancy 
among  historians.     Most  writers  of  the  time  assign  the  date  men 
tioned  in  the  text,  confirmed  moreover  by  the  Simancas  MS.  above 
cited,  the  author  of  which  enters  into  the  details  of  the  ceremony  with 
the  minuteness  of  an  eye-witness. 


CEREMONY  OF  ABDICATION.  n 

and,  as  well  as  his  beard,  was  now  gray.  His  forehead 
was  broad  and  expansive ;  his  nose  aquiline.  His  blue 
eyes  and  fair  complexion  intimated  his  Teutonic  de 
scent.  The  only  feature  in  his  countenance  decidedly 
bad  was  his  lower  jaw,  protruding  with  its  thick,  heavy 
lip,  so  characteristic  of  the  physiognomies  of  the  Aus 
trian  dynasty.5 

In  stature  he  was  about  the  middle  height.  His 
limbs  were  strongly  knit,  and  once  well  formed, 
though  now  the  extremities  were  sadly  distorted  by 
disease.  The  emperor  leaned  for  support  on  a  staff 
with  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  rested  on  the 
arm  of  William  of  Orange,  who,  then  young,  was  des 
tined  at  a  later  day  to  become  the  most  formidable 
enemy  of  his  house.  The  grave  demeanor  of  Charles 
was  rendered  still  more  impressive  by  his  dress ;  for  he 
was  in  mourning  for  his  mother;  and  the  sable  hue  of 
his  attire  was  relieved  only  by  a  single  ornament,  the 
superb  collar  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  which  hung  from 
his  neck. 

Behind  the  emperor  came  Philip,  the  heir  of  his  vast 
dominions.  He  was  of  a  middle  height,  of  much  the 
same  proportions  as,  his  father,  whom  he  resembled 
also  in  his  lineaments,  except  that  those  of  the  son 
wore  a  more  sombre  and  perhaps  a  sinister  expression; 
while  there  was  a  reserve  in  his  manner,  in  spite  of  his 
efforts  to  the  contrary,  as  if  he  would  shroud  his 

5  "  Erat  Carolus  statura  mediocri,  sed  brachiis  et  cruribus  crassis 
compactisque,  et  roboris  singularis,  ceteris  membris  proportione  mag- 
noque  commensu  respondentibus,  colore  albus,  crine  barbaque  ad 
flavum  inclinante;  facie  liberali,  nisi  quod  mentum  prominens  et 
parum  cohaerentia  labra  nonnihil  earn  deturpabant."  Sepulvedas 
Opera,  vol.  ii.  p.  527. 


12      ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES    THE   FIFTH. 

thoughts  from  observation.  The  magnificence  of  his 
dress  corresponded  with  his  royal  station,  and  formed 
a  contrast  to  that  of  his  father,  who  was  quitting  the 
pomp  and  grandeur  of  the  world,  on  which  the  son 
was  about  to  enter. 

Next  to  Philip  came  Mary,  the  emperor's  sister,  for 
merly  queen  of  Hungary.  She  had  filled  the  post  of 
Regent  of  the  Low  Countries  for  nearly  twenty  years, 
and  now  welcomed  the  hour  when  she  was  to  resign 
the  burden  of  sovereignty  to  her  nephew,  and  withdraw, 
like  her  imperial  brother,  into  private  life.  Another 
sister  of  Charles,  Eleanor,  widow  of  the  French  king 
Francis  the  First,  also  took  part  in  these  ceremonies, 
previous  to  her  departure  for  Spain,  whither  she  was  to 
accompany  the  emperor. 

After  these  members  of  the  imperial  family  came  the 
nobility  of  the  Netherlands,  the  knights  of  the  Golden 
Fleece,  the  royal  counsellors,  and  the  great  officers  of 
the  household,  all  splendidly  attired  in  their  robes 
of  state  and  proudly  displaying  the  insignia  of  their 
orders.  When  the  emperor  had  mounted  his  throne, 
with  Philip  on  his  right  hand,  the  Regent  Mary  on  his 
left,  and  the  rest  of  his  retinue  disposed  along  the 
seats  prepared  for  them  on  the  platform,  the  president 
of  the  council  of  Flanders  addressed  the  assembly. 
He  briefly  explained  the  object  for  which  they  had 
been  summoned,  and  the  motives  which  had  induced 
their  master  to  abdicate  the  throne ;  and  he  concluded 
by  requiring  them,  in  their  sovereign's  name,  to  trans 
fer  their  allegiance  from  himself  to  Philip,  his  son  and 
rightful  heir. 

After  a  pause,  Charles  rose  to  address  a  few  parting 


CEREMONY  OF  ABDICATION.  13 

words  to  his  subjects.  He  stood  with  apparent  diffi 
culty,  and  rested  his  right  hand  on  the  shoulder  of  the 
prince  of  Orange, — intimating  by  this  preference  on 
so  distinguished  an  occasion  the  high  favor  in  which 
he  held  the  young  nobleman.  In  the  other  hand  he 
held  a  paper,  containing  some  hints  for  his  discourse, 
and  occasionally  cast  his  eyes  on  it,  to  refresh  his 
memory.  He  spoke  in  the  French  language. 

He  was  unwilling,  he  said,  to  part  from  his  people 
without  a  few  words  from  his  own  lips.  It  was  now 
forty  years  since  he  had  been  intrusted  with  the  sceptre 
of  the  Netherlands.  He  was  soon  after  called  to  take 
charge  of  a  still  more  extensive  empire,  both  in  Spain 
and  in  Germany,  involving  a  heavy  responsibility  for 
one  so  young.  He  had,  however,  endeavored  earnestly 
to  do  his  duty  to  the  best  of  his  abilities.  He  had 
been  ever  mindful  of  the  interests  of  the  dear  land 
of  his  birth,  but,  above  all,  of  the  great  interests  of 
Christianity.  His  first  object  had  been  to  maintain 
these  inviolate  against  the  infidel.  In  this  he  had 
been  thwarted,  partly  by  the  jealousy  of  neighboring 
powers,  and  partly  by  the  factions  of  the  heretical 
princes  of  Germany. 

In  the  performance  of  his  great  work,  he  had  never 
consulted  his  ease.  His  expeditions,  in  war  and  in 
peace,  to  France,  England,  Germany,  Italy,  Spain, 
and  Flanders,  had  amounted  to  no  less  than  forty. 
Four  times  he  had  crossed  the  Spanish  seas,  and  eight 
times  the  Mediterranean.  He  had  shrunk  from  no 
toil,  while  he  had  the  strength  to  endure  it.  But  a 
cruel  malady  had  deprived  him  of  that  strength. 
Conscious  of  his  inability  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
Philip.— VOL.  I.  2 


I4      ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES   THE   FIFTH. 

his  station,  he  had  long  since  come  to  the  resolution 
to  relinquish  it.  From  this  he  had  been  diverted  only 
by  the  situation  of  his  unfortunate  parent  and  by  the 
inexperience  of  his  son.  These  objections  no  longer 
existed;  and  he  should  not  stand  excused,  in  the  eye 
of  Heaven  or  of  the  world,  if  he  should  insist  on 
still  holding  the  reins  of  government  when  he  was 
incapable  of  managing  them, — when  every  year  his 
incapacity  must  become  more  obvious. 

He  begged  them  to  believe  that  this  and  no  other 
motive  induced  him  to  resign  the  sceptre  which  he 
had  so  long  swayed.  They  had  been  to  him  dutiful 
and  loving  subjects ;  and  such,  he  doubted  not,  they 
would  prove  to  his  successor.  Above  all  things,  he 
besought  them  to  maintain  the  purity  of  the  faith. 
If  any  one,  in  these  licentious  times,  had  admitted 
doubts  into  his  bosom,  let  such  doubts  be  extirpated 
at  once.  "I  know  well,"  he  concluded,  "that,  in 
my  long  administration,  I  have  fallen  into  many  errors 
and  committed  some  wrongs.  But  it  was  from  ig 
norance  ;  and,  if  there  be  any  here  whom  I  have 
wronged,  they  will  believe  that  it  was  not  intended, 
and  grant  me  their  forgiveness."6 

While  the  emperor  was  speaking,  a  breathless  silence 

6  The  speech  is  given,  with  sufficient  conformity,  by  two  of  the  per 
sons  who  heard  it, — a  Flemish  writer,  whose  MS.,  preserved  in  the 
Archives  du  Royaume,  has  lately  been  published  by  Gachard,  in  the 
Analectes  Belgiques  (p.  87),  and  Sir  John  Mason,  the  British  minister 
at  the  court  of  Charles,  who  describes  the  whole  ceremony  in  a  com 
munication  to  his  government  (The  Order  of  the  Cession  of  the  Low 
Countries  to  the  King's  Majesty,  MS.).  The  historian  Sandoval  also 
gives  a  full  report  of  the  speech,  on  the  authority  of  one  who  heard 
it.  Historia  de  la  Vida  y  Hechos  del  Emperador  Carlos  V.  (Am- 
beres,  1681),  torn.  ii.  p.  599. 


CEREMONY  OF  ABDICATION.  15 

pervaded  the  whole  audience.  Charles  had  ever  been 
dear  to  the  people  of  the  Netherlands, — the  land  of 
his  birth.  They  took  a  national  pride  in  his  achieve 
ments,  and  felt  that  his  glory  reflected  a  peculiar  lustre 
on  themselves.  As  they  now  gazed  for  the  last  time 
on  that  revered  form,  and  listened  to  the  parting  ad 
monitions  from  his  lips,  they  were  deeply  affected,  and 
not  a  dry  eye  was  to  be  seen  in  the  assembly. 

After  a  short  interval,  Charles,  turning  to  Philip, 
who,  in  an  attitude  of  deep  respect,  stood  awaiting  his 
commands,  thus  addressed  him:  "If  the  vast  posses 
sions  which  are  now  bestowed  on  you  had  come  by 
inheritance,  there  would  be  abundant  cause  for  grati 
tude.  How  much  more,  when  they  come  as  a  free 
gift,  in  the  lifetime  of  your  father !  But,  however 
large  the  debt,  I  shall  consider  it  all  repaid,  if  you 
only  discharge  your  duty  to  your  subjects.  So  rule 
over  them  that  men  shall  commend  and  not  censure 
me  for  the  part  I  am  now  acting.  Go  on  as  you  have 
begun.  Fear  God;  live  justly;  respect  the  laws; 
above  all,  cherish  the  interests  of  religion ;  and  may 
the  Almighty  bless  you  with  a  son  to  whom,  when  old 
and  stricken  with  disease,  you  may  be  able  to  resign 
your  kingdom  with  the  same  good  will  with  which  I 
now  resign  mine  to  you." 

As  he  ceased,  Philip,  much  affected,  would  have 
thrown  himself  at  his  father's  feet,  assuring  him  of  his 
intention  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  merit  such  good 
ness  ;  but  Charles,  raising  his  son,  tenderly  embraced 
him,  while  the  tears  flowed  fast  down  his  cheeks. 
Every  one,  even  the  most  stoical,  was  touched  by  this 
affecting  scene;  "and  nothing,"  says  one  who  was 


!6       ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

present,  "was  to  be  heard  throughout  the  hall  but 
sobs  and  ill-suppressed  moans."  Charles,  exhausted 
by  his  efforts,  and  deadly  pale,  sank  back  upon  his 
seat ;  while,  with  feeble  accents,  he  exclaimed,  as  he 
gazed  on  his  people,  "God  bless  you!  God  bless 
you!" 7 

After  these  emotions  had  somewhat  subsided,  Philip 
arose,  and,  delivering  himself  in  French,  briefly  told 
the  deputies  of  the  regret  which  he  felt  at  not  being 
able  to  address  them  in  their  native  language,  and  to 
assure  them  of  the  favor  and  high  regard  in  which  he 
held  them.  This  would  be  done  for  him  by  the  bishop 
of  Arras. 

This  was  Antony  Perennot,  better  known  as  Cardinal 
Granvelle,  son  of  the  famous  minister  of  Charles  the 
Fifth,  and  destined  himself  to  a  still  higher  celebrity 
as  the  minister  of  Philip  the  Second.  In  clear  and 
fluent  language,  he  gave  the  deputies  the  promise  of 
their  new  sovereign  to  respect  the  laws  and  liberties 
of  the  nation ;  invoking  them,  on  his  behalf,  to  aid 

7  Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  597-599. — Leti,  Vita  del 
Catolico  Re  Filippo  II.  (Coligni,  1679),  torn.  i.  pp.  240-242. — Vera  y 
Figueroa,  Epitome  de  la  Vida  y  Hechos  del  invicto  Emperador  Carlos 
Quinto  (Madrid,  1649),  pp.  119,  120. — Sir  John  Mason  thus  describes 
the  affecting  scene  :  "  And  here  he  broke  into  a  weeping,  whereunto, 
besides  the  dolefulness  of  the  matter,  I  think  he  was  much  provoked 
by  seeing  the  whole  company  to  do  the  like  before,  being,  in  mine 
opinion,  not  'one  man  in  the  whole  assembly,  stranger  or  other,  that 
during  the  time  of  a  good  piece  of  his  oration  poured  not  out  abun 
dantly  tears,  some  more,  some  less.  And  yet  he  prayed  them  to  bear 
with  his  imperfection,  proceeding  of  sickly  age,  and  of  the  mention 
ing  of  so  tender  a  matter  as  the  departing  from  such  a  sort  of  dear 
and  most  loving  subjects."  The  Order  of  the  Cession  of  the  Low 
Countries  to  the  King's  Majesty,  MS. 


CEREMONY  OF  ABDICATION.  17 

him  with  their  counsels,  and,  like  loyal  vassals,  to 
maintain  the  authority  of  the  law  in  his  dominions. 
After  a  suitable  response  from  the  deputies,  filled  with 
sentiments  of  regret  for  the  loss  of  their  late  monarch 
and  with  those  of  loyalty  to  their  new  one,  the  Regent 
Mary  formally  abdicated  her  authority,  and  the  session 
closed.  So  ended  a  ceremony  which,  considering  the 
importance  of  its  consequences,  the  character  of  the 
actors,  and  the  solemnity  of  the  proceedings,  is  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  in  history.  That  the  crown 
of  the  monarch  is  lined  with  thorns,  is  a  trite  maxim ; 
and  it  requires  no  philosophy  to  teach  us  that  happi 
ness  does  not  depend  on  station.  Yet,  numerous  as 
are  the  instances  of  those  who  have  waded  to  a  throne 
through  seas  of  blood,  there  are  but  few  who,  when 
they  have  once  tasted  the  sweets  of  sovereignty,  have 
been  content  to  resign  them ;  still  fewer  who,  when 
they  have  done  so,  have  had  the  philosophy  to  con 
form  to  their  change  of  condition  and  not  to  repent 
it.  Charles,  as  the  event  proved,  was  one  of  these 
few. 

On  the  sixteenth  day  of  January,  1556,  in  the  pres 
ence  of  such  of  the  Spanish  nobility  as  were  at  the 
court,  he  executed  the  deeds  by  which  he  ceded  the 
sovereignty  of  Castile  and  Aragon,  with  their  depend 
encies,  to  Philip.8 

The  last  act  that  remained  for  him  to  perform  was 
to  resign  the  crown  of  Germany  in  favor  of  his  brother 

8  The  date  of  this  renunciation  is  also  a  subject  of  disagreement 
among  contemporary  historians,  although  it  would  seem  to  be  settled 
by  the  date  of  the  instrument  itself,  which  is  published  by  Sandoval, 
in  his  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  603-606. 
2* 


1 8       ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES   THE   FIFTH. 

Ferdinand.  But  this  he  consented  to  defer  for  some 
time  longer,  at  the  request  of  Ferdinand  himself,  who 
wished  to  prepare  the  minds  of  the  electoral  college 
for  this  unexpected  transfer  of  the  imperial  sceptre. 
But,  while  Charles  consented  to  retain  for  the  present 
the  title  of  Emperor,  the  real  power  and  the  burden 
of  sovereignty  would  remain  with  Ferdinand.9 

At  the  time  of  abdicating  the  throne  of  the  Nether 
lands,  Charles  was  still  at  war  with  France.  He  had 
endeavored  to  negotiate  a  permanent  peace  with  that 
country;  and,  although  he  failed  in  this,  he  had  the 
satisfaction,  on  the  fifth  of  February,  1556,  to  arrange 
a  truce  for  five  years,  which  left  both  powers  in  the 
possession  of  their  respective  conquests.  In  the  exist 
ing  state  of  these  conquests,  the  truce  was  by  no  means 
favorable  to  Spain.  But  Charles  would  have  made 
even  larger  concessions,  rather  than  leave  the  legacy 
of  a  war  to  his  less  experienced  successor. 

Having  thus  completed  all  his  arrangements,  by 
which  the  most  powerful  prince  of  Europe  descended 
to  the  rank  of  a  private  gentleman,  Charles  had  no 
longer  reason  to  defer  his  departure,  and  he  proceeded 
to  the  place  of  embarkation.  He  was  accompanied 
by  a  train  of  Flemish  courtiers,  and  by  the  foreign 
ambassadors,  to  the  latter  of  whom  he  warmly  com- 

9  L,anz,  Correspondenz  des  Kaisers  Karl  V.,  B.  iii.  s.  708. — Five 
years  before  this  period  Charles  had  endeavored  to  persuade  Ferdi 
nand  to  relinquish  to  Philip  the  pretensions  which,  as  King  of  the 
Romans,  he  had  to  the  empire.  This  negotiation  failed,  as  might  have 
been  expected.  Ferdinand  was  not  weary  of  the  world  ;  and  Charles 
could  offer  no  bribe  large  enough  to  buy  off  an  empire.  See  the 
account  given  by  Marillac,  ap.  Raumer,  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth 
Centuries  (London,  1835,  Eng.  trans.),  vol.  i.  p.  28  et  seq. 


HIS  RETURN   TO   SPAIN.  19 

mended  the  interests  of  his  son.  A  fleet  of  fifty-six 
sail  was  riding  at  anchor  in  the  port  of  Flushing,  ready 
to  transport  him  and  his  retinue  to  Spain.  From  the 
imperial  household,  consisting  of  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-two  persons,  he  selected  a  hundred  and  fifty  as 
his  escort;  and  accompanied  by  his  sisters,  after  taking 
an  affectionate  farewell  of  Philip,  whose  affairs  de 
tained  him  in  Flanders,  on  the  seventeenth  of  Sep 
tember  he  sailed  from  the  harbor  of  Flushing. 

The  passage  was  a  boisterous  one ;  and  Charles,  who 
suffered  greatly  from  his  old  enemy  the  gout,  landed, 
in  a  feeble  state,  at  Laredo,  in  Biscay,  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  the  month.  Scarcely  had  he  left  the  vessel 
when  a  storm  fell  with  fury  on  the  fleet  and  did  some 
mischief  to  the  shipping  in  the  harbor.  The  pious 
Spaniard  saw  in  this  the  finger  of  Providence,  which 
had  allowed  no  harm  to  the  squadron  till  its  royal 
freight  had  been  brought  safely  to  the  shore.10 

On  landing,  Charles  complained,  and  with  some 
reason,  of  the  scanty  preparations  that  had  been  made 
for  him.  Philip  had  written  several  times  to  his  sister, 
the  regent,  ordering  her  to  have  every  thing  ready  for 
the  emperor  on  his  arrival."  Joanna  had  accordingly 
issued  her  orders  to  that  effect.  But  promptness  and 

10  "  Favor  sin  duda  del  Cielo,"  says  Sandoval,  who  gives  quite  a 
miraculous  air  to  the  event  by  adding  that  the  emperor's  vessel  en 
countered  the  brunt  of  the  storm  and  foundered  in  port.     (Hist,  de 
Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  607.)     But  this  and  some  other  particulars  told 
by  the  historian  of  Charles's  landing,  unconfirmed  as  they  are  by  a 
single  eye-witness,  may  be  reckoned  among  the  myths  of  the  voyage. 

11  The  last  of  Philip's  letters,  dated  September  8th,  is  given  entire  in 
the  MS.  of  Don  Tomas  Gonzales  (Retire,  Estancia,  y  Muerte  del 
Emperador  Carlos  Quinto  en  el  Monasterio  de  Yuste),  which  forms 
the  basis  of  Mignet's  interesting  account  of  Charles  the  Fifth. 


20       ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES    THE   FIFTH. 

punctuality  are  not  virtues  of  the  Spaniard.  Some 
apology  may  be  found  for  their  deficiency  in  the 
present  instance;  as  Charles  himself  had  so  often 
postponed  his  departure  from  the  Low  Countries  that, 
when  he  did  come,  the  people  were,  in  a  manner, 
taken  by  surprise.  That  the  neglect  was  not  inten 
tional  is  evident  from  their  subsequent  conduct.12 

Charles,  whose  weakness  compelled  him  to  be  borne 
in  a  litter,  was  greeted  everywhere  on  the  road  like  a 
sovereign  returning  to  his  dominions.  At  Burgos, 
which  he  entered  amidst  the  ringing  of  bells  and  a 
general  illumination  of  the  town,  he  passed  three  days, 
experiencing  the  hospitalities  of  the  great  constable, 
and  receiving  the  homage  of  the  northern  lords,  as  well 
as  of  the  people,  who  thronged  the  route  by  which 
he  was  to  pass.  At  Torquemada,  among  those  who 
came  to  pay  their  respects  to  their  former  master  was 
Gasca,  the  good  president  of  Peru.  He  had  been  sent 
to  America  to  suppress  the  insurrection  of  Gonzalo 
Pizarro  and  restore  tranquillity  to  the  country.  In 
the  execution  of  this  delicate  mission  he  succeeded  so 
well  that  the  emperor,  on  his  return,  had  raised  him  to 
the  see  of  Plasencia ;  and  the  excellent  man  now  lived 
in  his  diocese,  where,  in  the  peaceful  discharge  of  his 
episcopal  functions,  he  probably  enjoyed  far  greater 

12  Among  other  disappointments  was  that  of  not  receiving  four 
thousand  ducats  which  Joanna  had  ordered  to  be  placed  at  the  em 
peror's  disposition  on  his  landing.  This  appears  from  a  letter  of  the 
emperor's  secretary,  Gaztelu,  to  Vazquez  de  Molina,  October  6th,  1556 : 
"  El  emperador  tovo  por  cierto  que  llegado  aqui,  hallaria  los  cuatro 
mil  ducados  que  el  rey  le  dijo  habia  mandado  proveer,  y  visto  que  no 
se  ha  hecho,  me  ha  mandado  lo  escribiese  luego  d  Vuestra  Merced, 
para  que  se  haya,  porque  son  mucho  menester."  MS. 


HIS   JOURNEY  TO    YUSTE.  2I 

contentment  than  he  could  have  derived  from  the 
dazzling  but  difficult  post  of  an  American  viceroy. 

From  Torquemada,  Charles  slowly  proceeded  to 
Valladolid,  where  his  daughter,  the  Regent  Joanna, 
was  then  holding  her  court.  Preparations  were  made 
for  receiving  him  in  a  manner  suited  to  his  former 
rank.  But  Charles  positively  declined  these  honors, 
reserving  them  for  his  two  sisters,  the  queens  of  France 
and  Hungary,  who  accordingly  made  their  entrance 
into  the  capital  in  great  state,  on  the  day  following 
that  on  which  their  royal  brother  had  entered  it  with 
the  simplicity  of  a  private  citizen. 

He  remained  here  some  days,  in  order  to  recover 
from  the  fatigue  of  his  journey ;  and,  although  he  took 
no  part  in  the  festivities  of  the  court,  he  gave  audience 
to  his  ancient  ministers,  and  to  such  of  the  Castilian 
grandees  as  were  eager  to  render  him  their  obeisance. 
At  the  court  he  had  also  the  opportunity  of  seeing  his 
grandson  Carlos,  the  heir  of  the  monarchy ;  and  his 
quick  eye,  it  is  said,  in  this  short  time  saw  enough 
in  the  prince's  deportment  to  fill  him  with  ominous 
forebodings. 

Charles  prolonged  his  stay  fourteen  days  in  Valla 
dolid,  during  which  time  his  health  was  much  benefited 
by  the  purity  and  the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere.  On 
his  departure,  his  royal  sisters  would  have  borne  him 
company,  and  even  have  fixed  their  permanent  resi 
dence  near  his  own.  But  to  this  he  would  not  consent ; 
and,  taking  a  tender  farewell  of  every  member  of  his 
family, — as  one  who  was  never  to  behold  them  again, — 
he  resumed  his  journey.  He  took  with  him  a  number 
of  followers,  mostly  menials,  to  wait  on  his  person. 


22       ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES    THE   FIFTH. 

The  place  he  had  chosen  for  his  retreat  was  the 
monastery  of  Yuste,  in  the  province  of  Estremadura, 
not  many  miles  from  Plasencia.  On  his  way  thither 
he  halted  near  three  months  at  Jarandilla,  the  resi 
dence  of  the  count  of  Oropesa,  waiting  there  for  the 
completion  of  some  repairs  that  were  going  on  in  the 
monastery,  as  well  as  for  the  remittance  of  a  consider 
able  sum  of  money,  which  he  was  daily  expecting. 
This  he  required  chiefly  to  discharge  the  arrears  due 
to  some  of  his  old  retainers ;  and  the  failure  of  the 
remittance  has  brought  some  obloquy  on  Philip,  who 
could  so  soon  show  himself  unmindful  of  his  obliga 
tions  to  his  father.  But  the  blame  should  rather  be 
charged  on  Philip's  ministers  than  on  Philip,  absent  as 
he  was  at  that  time  from  the  country,  and  incapable  of 
taking  personal  cognizance  of  the  matter.  Punctuality 
in  his  pecuniary  engagements  was  a  virtue  to  which 
neither  Charles  nor  Philip — the  masters  of  the  Indies — 
could  at  any  time  lay  claim.  But  the  imputation  of 
parsimony,  or  even  indifference,  on  the  part  of  the 
latter,  in  his  relations  with  his  father,  is  fully  disproved 
by  the  subsequent  history  of  that  monarch  at  the 
convent  of  Yuste.13 

*3  Sandoval  makes  no  allusion  to  the  affair,  which  rests  on  the  re 
port  of  Strada  (De  Bello  Belgico  (Antverpiae,  1640),  torn.  i.  p.  12) 
and  of  Cabrera, — the  latter,  as  one  of  the  royal  household  and  the 
historiographer  of  Castile,  by  far  the  best  authority.  In  the  narration 
he  does  not  spare  his  master  :  "  En  Jarandilla  ameno  lugar  del  Conde 
de  Oropesa,  espero  treinta  dias  treinta  mil  escudos  con  que  pagar  y 
dispedir  sus  criados  que  llegaron  con  tarda  provision  y  mano ;  terri 
ble  tentacion  para  no  dar  todo  su  aver  antes  de  la  muerte."  Filipe 
Segundo  Rey  de  Espana  (Madrid,  1619),  lib.  ii.  cap.  n. — The  letters 
from  Jarandilla  at  this  time  show  the  embarrassments  under  which 
the  emperor  labored  from  want  of  funds.  His  exchequer  was  so  low, 


7/75   JOURNEY  TO    YUSTE.  23 

This  place  had  attracted  his  eye  many  years  before, 
when  on  a  visit  to  that  part  of  the  country,  and  he 
had  marked  it  for  his  future  residence.  The  convent 
was  tenanted  by  monks  of  the  strictest  order  of  Saint 
Jerome.  But,  however  strict  in  their  monastic  rule, 
the  good  fathers  showed  much  taste  in  the  selection  of 
their  ground,  as  well  as  in  the  embellishment  of  it.  It 
lay  in  a  wild,  romantic  country,  embosomed  among 
hills  that  stretch  along  the  northern  confines  of  Estre- 
madura.  The  building,  which  was  of  great  antiquity, 
had  been  surrounded  by  its  inmates  with  cultivated 
gardens,  and  with  groves  of  orange,  lemon,  and  myrtle, 
whose  fragrance  was  tempered  by  the  refreshing  cool 
ness  of  the  waters  that  gushed  forth  in  abundance  from 
the  rocky  sides  of  the  hills.  It  was  a  delicious  retreat, 
and,  by  its  calm  seclusion  and  the  character  of  its 
scenery,  was  well  suited  to  withdraw  the  mind  from 
the  turmoil  of  the  world  and  dispose  it  to  serious 
meditation.  Here  the  monarch,  after  a  life  of  rest 
less  ambition,  proposed  to  spend  the  brief  remainder 
of  his  days  and  dedicate  it  to  the  salvation  of  his  soul. 
He  could  not,  however,  as  the  event  proved,  close  his 
heart  against  all  sympathy  with  mankind,  nor  refuse 
to  take  some  part  in  the  great  questions  which  then 
agitated  the  world.  Charles  was  not  master  of  that 

indeed,  that  on  one  occasion  he  was  obliged  to  borrow  a  hundred  reals 
for  his  ordinary  expenses  from  his  major-domo  :  "  Los  ultimos  dos  mil 
ducados  que  trujo  el  criado  de  Hernando  Ochoa  se  han  acabo,  porque 
cuando  llegdron,  se  debian  ya  la  mitad,  de  manera  que  no  tenemos 
un  real  para  el  gasto  ordinario,  que  para  socorrer  hoy  he  dado  yo  cien 
reales,  ni  se  sabe  de  donde  haberlo."  Carta  de  Luis  Quixada  a  Juan 
Vazquez,  ap.  Gachard,  Retraite  et  Mort  de  Charles-Quint  (Bruxelles, 
1554),  torn.  i.  p.  76. 


24       ABDICATION   OF  CHARLES    THE   FIFTH. 

ignoble  philosophy  which  enabled  Diocletian  to  turn 
with  contentment  from  the  cares  of  an  empire  to  those 
of  a  cabbage-garden.  In  this  retirement  we  must  now 
leave  the  royal  recluse,  while  we  follow  the  opening 
career  of  the  prince  whose  reign  is  the  subject  of  the 
present  history. 


CHAPTER    II. 

EARLY   DAYS    OF    PHILIP. 

Birth  of  Philip  the  Second.  —  His  Education.  —  Intrusted  with  the 
Regency. — Marries  Mary  of  Portugal. — Visit  to  Flanders. — Public 
Festivities. — Ambitious  Schemes. — Returns  to  Spain. 

I527-I55I- 

PHILIP  THE  SECOND  was  born  at  Valladolid,  on  the 
twenty-first  of  May,  1527.  His  mother  was  the  Em 
press  Isabella,  daughter  of  Emanuel  the  Great  of 
Portugal.  By  his  father  he  was  descended  from  the 
ducal  houses  of  Burgundy  and  Austria.  By  both 
father  and  mother  he  claimed  a  descent  from  Ferdi 
nand  and  Isabella  the  Catholic  of  Spain.  As  by  blood 
he  was  half  a  Spaniard,  so  by  temperament  and  charac 
ter  he  proved  to  be  wholly  so. 

The  ceremony  of  his  baptism  was  performed  with  all 
due  solemnity,  by  Tavera,  archbishop  of  Toledo,  on 
the  twenty-fifth  of  June,  when  the  royal  infant  received 
the  name  of  Philip,  after  his  paternal  grandfather, 
Philip  the  Handsome,  whose  brief  reign — for  which  he 
was  indebted  to  his  union  with  Joanna,  queen-proprie 
tor  of  Castile — has  hardly  secured  him  a  place  in  the 
line  of  Castilian  sovereigns. 

The  birth  of  a  son — the  heir  of  so  magnificent  an 
empire — was  hailed  with  delight  both  by  Charles  and 
by  the  whole  nation,  who  prepared  to  celebrate  it  in  a 
Philip.— VOL.  I.— B  3  25 


26  EARL  Y  DA  YS   OF  PHILIP. 

style  worthy  of  the  event,  when  tidings  reached  them 
of  the  capture  of  Pope  Clement  the  Seventh  and  the 
sack  of  Rome  by  the  Spanish  troops  under  the  consta 
ble  de  Bourbon.  The  news  of  this  event,  and  the 
cruelties  inflicted  by  the  conquerors,  filled  all  Europe 
with  consternation.  Even  the  Protestants,  who  had 
no  superfluous  sympathy  to  spare  for  the  sufferings  of 
the  pope,  were  shocked  by  the  perpetration  of  atrocities 
compared  with  which  the  conduct  of  Attila  and  Alaric 
might  almost  be  deemed  merciful.  Whatever  responsi 
bility  may  attach  to  Charles  on  the  score  of  the  expe 
dition,  it  would  be  injustice  to  him  to  suppose  that  he 
did  not  share  in  the  general  indignation  at  the  manner 
.in  which  it  was  conducted.  At  all  events,  he  could 
hardly  venture  to  outrage  the  feelings  of  Christendom 
so  far  as  to  take  the  present  moment  for  one  of  public 
rejoicing.  Orders  were  instantly  issued  to  abandon 
the  intended  festivities,  greatly  to  the  discontent  of  the 
people,  whose  sympathy  for  the  pope  did  not  by  any 
means  incline  them  to  put  this  restraint  on  the  expres 
sion  of  their  loyalty;  and  they  drew  from  the  disap 
pointment  an  uncomfortable  augury  that  the  reign  of  the 
young  prince  boded  no  good  to  the  Catholic  religion.1 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  the  people  of 

1  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  i. — Vanderhammen,  Don 
Felipe  el  Prudente  (Madrid,  1625),  p.  I. — Breve  Compendio  de  la  Vida 
privada  del  Rey  D.  Felipe  Segundo  atribuido  a  Pedro  Mateo  Coronista 
mayor  del  Reyno  de  Francia,  MS. — Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i. 
p.  69  et  seq. — "  Andauano  sussurando  per  le  strade,  cauando  da  questa 
proibitione  di  solennita  pronostici  di  cattivi  augurii ;  gli  vni  diceuano, 
che  questo  Prencipe  doueua  esser  causa  di  grandi  afflittione  alia 
Chiesa;  gli  altri;  Che  cominciando  a  nascere  colle  tenebre,  non 
poteua  portar  che  ombra  alia  Spagna."  Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn. 
'•  P-  73- 


HIS  EDUCATION.  27 

Castile  had  an  opportunity  for  the  full  display  of  their 
enthusiasm,  on  the  occasion  of  Philip's  recognition  as 
rightful  heir  to  the  crown.  The  ceremony  was  con 
ducted  with  great  pomp  and  splendor  in  the  cortes  at 
Madrid,  on  the  nineteenth  of  April,  1528,  when  he  was 
but  eleven  months  old.  The  prince  was  borne  in  the 
arms  of  his  mother,  who,  with  the  emperor,  was  present 
on  the  occasion  ;  while  the  nobles,  the  clergy,  and  the 
commons  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  royal 
infant,  as  successor  to  the  crown  of  Castile.  The  act 
of  homage  was  no  sooner  published  than  the  nation, 
as  if  by  way  of  compensation  for  the  past,  abandoned 
itself  to  a  general  jubilee.  Illuminations  and  bonfires 
were  lighted  up  in  all  the  towns  and  villages;  while, 
everywhere  were  to  be  seen  dancing,  bull-fights,  tilts 
of  reeds,  and  the  other  national  games  of  that  chival 
rous  and  romantic  land. 

Soon  after  this,  Charles  was  called  by  his  affairs  to 
other  parts  of  his  far-extended  empire,  and  he  left  his 
infant  son  to  the  care  of  a  Portuguese  lady,  Dona 
Leonor  Mascarenas,  or  rather  to  that  of  the  Empress 
Isabella,  in  whose  prudence  and  maternal  watchfulness 
he  could  safely  confide.  On  the  emperor's  return  to 
Spain,  when  his  son  was  hardly  seven  years  old,  he 
formed  for  him  a  separate  establishment,  and  selected 
two  persons  for  the  responsible  office  of  superintending 
his  education.8 

2  Leti,  Vita'di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  74. — Noticia  de  los  Ayos  y 
Maestros  de  Felipe  Segundo  y  Carlos  su  Hijo,  MS. — "  Et  passo  i  primi 
anni  et  la  maggior  parte  dell'  eta  sua  in  quel  regno,  onde  per  usanza 
del  paese,  et  per  la  volonta  della  madre  che  era  di  Portogallo  fu  alle- 
vato  con  quella  riputatione  et  con  quel  rispetto  che  parea  convenirsi 
ad  un  figliuolo  del  maggior  Imperatore  che  fosse  mai  fra  Chris- 


28  EARL  Y  DA  YS   OF  PHILIP. 

One  of  these  personages  was  Juan  Martinez  Siliceo, 
at  that  time  professor  in  the  College  of  Salamanca.  He 
was  a  man  of  piety  and  learning,  of  an  accommodating 
temper, — too  accommodating,  it  appears  from -so  me  of 
Charles's  letters,  for  the  good  of  his  pupil,  though  not, 
as  it  would  seem,  for  his  own  good,  since  he  found  such 
favor  with  the  prince  that,  from  an  humble  ecclesiastic, 
he  was  subsequently  preferred  to  the  highest  dignities 
of  the  Church. 

Under  him,  Philip  was  instructed  in  the  ancient 
classics,  and  made  such  progress  in  Latin  that  he  could 
write  it,  and  did  write  it  frequently  in  after-life,  with 
ease  and  correctness.  He  studied,  also,  Italian  and 
French.  He  seems  to  have  had  little  knowledge  of  the 
former,  but  French  he  could  speak  indifferently  well, 
though  he  was  rarely  inclined  to  venture  beyond  his 
own  tongue.  He  showed  a  more  decided  taste  for 
science,  especially  the  mathematics.  He  made  a  care 
ful  study  of  the  principles  of  architecture;  and  the 
fruits  of  this  study  are  to  be  seen  in  some  of  the 
noblest  monuments  erected  in  that  flourishing  period 
of  the  arts.  In  sculpture  and  painting  he  also  made 
some  proficiency,  and  became  in  later  life  no  con 
temptible  critic, — at  least  for  a  sovereign. 

The  other  functionary  charged  with  Philip's  educa 
tion  was  Don  Juan  de  Zufiiga,  comendador  mayor  of 
Castile.  He  taught  his  pupil  to  fence,  to  ride,  to  take 
his  part  at  the  tilts  and  tourneys,  and,  in  short,  to 
excel  in  the  chivalrous  exercises  familiar  to  cavaliers 
of  his  time.  He  encouraged  Philip  to  invigorate  his 

tiani."     Relatione  di  Spagna  del  Cavaliere  Michele  Soriano,  Ambas- 
ciatore  al  Re  Filipo,  MS. 


HIS  EDUCATION.  29 

constitution  by  the  hardy  pleasures  of  the  chase,  to 
which,  however,  he  was  but  little  addicted  as  he 
advanced  in  years. 

But,  besides  these  personal  accomplishments,  no  one 
was  better  qualified  than  Zuniga  to  instruct  his  pupil  in 
the  duties  belonging  to  his  royal  station.  He  was  a 
man  of  ancient  family,  and  had  passed  much  of  his 
life  in  courts.  But  he  had  none  of  the  duplicity  or  of 
the  suppleness  which  often  marks  the  character  of  the 
courtier.  He  possessed  too  high  a  sentiment  of  honor 
to  allow  him  to  trifle  with  truth.  He  spoke  his  mind 
plainly,  too  plainly  sometimes  for  the  taste  of  his  pupil. 
Charles,  who  understood  the  character  of  Zuniga,  wrote 
to  his  son  to  honor  and  to  cherish  him.  "  If  he  deals 
plainly  with  you,"  he  said,  "it  is  for  the  love  he  bears 
you.  If  he  were  to  flatter  you,  and  be  only  solicitous 
of  ministering  to  your  wishes,  he  would  be  like  all  the 
rest  of  the  world,  and  you  would  have  no  one  near  to 
tell  you  the  truth ; — and  a  worse  thing  cannot  happen 
to  any  man,  old  or  young;  but  most  of  all  to  the 
young,  from  their  want  of  experience  to  discern  truth 
from  error."  The  wise  emperor,  who  knew  how  rarely 
it  is  that  truth  is  permitted  to  find  its  way  to  royal  ears, 
set  a  just  value  on  the  man  who  had  the  courage  to 
speak  it.3 

Under  the  influence  of  these  teachers,  and  still  more 
of  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed, — the 

3  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  i. — Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II., 
torn.  i.  p.  97. — Noticia  de  los  Ayos,  MS. — Relatione  di  Michele  Sori 
ano,  MS.— Relatione  di  Federico  Badoaro,  MS,— Charles's  letter,  of 
which  I  have  a  manuscript  copy,  has  been  published  in  the  Seminario 
erudito  (Madrid,  1788),  torn.  xiv.  p.  156,  et  seq. 
3* 


30  EARL  Y  DA  YS   OF  PHILIP. 

most  potent  teachers  of  all, — Philip  grew  in  years, 
and  slowly  unfolded  the  peculiar  qualities  of  his  dis 
position.  He  seemed  cautious  and  reserved  in  his 
demeanor,  and  slow  of  speech ;  yet  what  he  said  had 
a  character  of  thought  beyond  his  age.  At  no  time 
did  he  discover  that  buoyancy  of  spirit  or  was  he 
betrayed  into  those  sallies  of  temper  which  belong 
to  a  bold  and  adventurous  and  often  to  a  generous 
nature.  His  deportment  was  marked  by  a  seriousness 
that  to  some  might  seem  to  savor  of  melancholy.  He 
was  self-possessed,  so  that  even  as  a  boy  he  was  rarely 
off  his  guard.4 

The  emperor,  whose  affairs  called  him  away  from 
Spain  much  the  greater  part  of  his  time,  had  not  the 
power  of  personally  superintending  the  education  of 
his  son.  Unfortunately  for  the  latter,  his  excellent 
mother  died  when  he  was  but  twelve  years  old. 
Charles,  who  loved  his  wife  as  much  as  a  man  is 
capable  of  loving  whose  soul  is  filled  with  schemes  of 
boundless  ambition,  was  at  Madrid  when  he  received 
tidings  of  her  illness.  He  posted  in  all  haste  to 
Toledo,  where  the  queen  then  was,  but  arrived  there 
only  in  time  to  embrace  her  cold  remains  before  they 
were  consigned  to  the  sepulchre.  The  desolate  mon 
arch  abandoned  himself  to  an  agony  of  grief,  and  was 
with  difficulty  withdrawn  from  the  apartment  by  his 
attendants,  to  indulge  his  solitary  regrets  in  the  neigh 
boring  monastery  of  La  Sisla. 

Isabella  well  deserved  to  be  mourned  by  her  husband. 
She  was  a  woman,  from  all  accounts,  possessed  of  many 
high  and  generous  qualities.  Such  was  her  fortitude 
4  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  i. 


HIS  EDUCATION.  31 

that  at  the  time  of  her  confinement  she  was  never  heard 
to  utter  a  groan.  She  seemed  to  think  any  demonstra 
tion  of  suffering  a  weakness,  and  had  the  chamber 
darkened  that  her  attendants  might  not  see  the  distress 
painted  on  her  countenance.5  With  this  constancy  of 
spirit  she  united  many  feminine  virtues.  The  palace, 
under  her  rule,  became  a  school  of  industry.  Instead 
of  wasting  her  leisure  hours  in  frivolous  pleasures,  she 
might  be  seen  busily  occupied,  with  her  maidens,  in 
the  elegant  labors  of  the  loom  ;  and,  like  her  ancestor, 
the  good  Queen  Isabella  the  Catholic,  she  sent  more 
than  one  piece  of  tapestry,  worked  by  her  own  hands, 
to  adorn  the  altars  of  Jerusalem.  These  excellent 
qualities  were  enhanced  by  manners  so  attractive  that 
her  effigy  was  struck  on  a  medal,  with  a  device  of  the 
three  Graces  on  the  reverse  side,  bearing  the  motto, 
Has  habet  ct  super  at.6 

Isabella  was  but  thirty-six  years  old  at  the  time  of 
her  death.  Charles  was  not  forty.  He  never  married 
again.  Yet  the  bereavement  seems  to  have  had  little 
power  to  soften  his  nature,  or  incline  him  to  charity 
for  the  misconduct  or  compassion  for  the  misfortunes 
of  others.  It  was  but  a  few  months  after  the  death  of 
his  wife  that,  on  occasion  of  the  insurrection  of  Ghent, 
he  sought  a  passage  through  the  territory  of  his  ancient 
enemy  of  France,  descended  on  the  offending  city,  and 
took  such  vengeance  on  its  wretched  inhabitants  as 
made  all  Europe  ring  with  his  cruelty.7 

5  Florez,  Memorias  de  las  Reynas  Catholicas  (Madrid,  1770),  torn, 
ii.  p.  869. 

6  Ibid.,  torn.  ii.  p.  877. 

7  "  Tomo  la  posta  vestido  en  luto  come  viudo,"  says  Sandoval,  Hist, 
de  Carlos  Quiuto,  torn.  ii.  p.  285. 


3  2  EARLY  DAYS   OF  PHILIP. 

Philip  was  too  young  at  this  time  to  take  part  in 
the  administration  of  the  kingdom  during  his  father's 
absence.  But  he  was  surrounded  by  able  statesmen, 
who  familiarized  him  with  ideas  of  government,  by 
admitting  him  to  see  the  workings  of  the  machinery 
which  he  was  one  day  to  direct.  Charles  was  desirous 
that  the  attention  of  his  son,  even  in  boyhood,  should 
be  turned  to  those  affairs  which  were  to  form  the  great 
business  of  his  future  life.  It  seems  even  thus  early — 
at  this  period  of  mental  depression  —  the  emperor 
cherished  the  plan  of  anticipating  the  natural  conse 
quence  of  his  decease,  by  resigning  his  dominions  into 
the  hands  of  Philip  so  soon  as  he  should  be  qualified  to 
rule  them. 

No  event  occurred  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of 
Spain  during  the  emperor's  absence  from  that  country, 
to  which  he  returned  in  the  winter  of  1541.  It  was 
after  his  disastrous  expedition  against  Algiers, — the 
most  disastrous  of  any  that  he  had  yet  undertaken. 
He  there  saw  his  navy  sunk  or  scattered  by  the  tem 
pest,  and  was  fortunate  in  finding  a  shelter,  with  its 
shattered  remnants,  in  the  port  of  Carthagena.  Soon 
after  landing,  he  received  a  letter  from  Philip,  con 
doling  with  him  on  his  losses,  and  striving  to  cheer 
him  with  the  reflection  that  they  had  been  caused  by 
the  elements,  not  by  his  enemies.  With  this  tone  of 
philosophy  were  mingled  expressions  of  sympathy ; 
and  Charles  may  have  been  gratified  with  the  epistle, 
— if  he  could  believe  it  the  composition  of  his  son.8 
Philip  soon  after  this  made  a  journey  to  the  south ; 
and  in  the  society  of  one  who  was  now  the  chief 

8  The  letter  is  given  by  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  2. 


HJS  EDUCATION. 


33 


object  of  his  affections  the  emperor  may  have  found 
the  best  consolation  in  his  misfortunes. 

The  French  had  availed  themselves  of  the  troubled 
state  of  Charles's  affairs  to  make  a  descent  upon  Rous- 
sillon ;  and  the  dauphin  now  lay  in  some  strength 
before  the  gates  of  Perpignan.  The  emperor  con 
sidered  this  a  favorable  moment  for  Philip  to  take  his 
first  lesson  in  war.  The  prince  accordingly  posted  to 
Valladolid.  A  considerable  force  was  quickly  mus 
tered  ;  and  Philip,  taking  the  command,  and  supported 
by  some  of  the  most  experienced  of  his  father's  gen 
erals,  descended  rapidly  towards  the  coast.  But  the 
dauphin  did  not  care  to  wait  for  his  approach ;  and, 
breaking  up  his  camp,  he  retreated,  without  striking 
a  blow,  in  all  haste,  across  the  mountains.  Philip 
entered  the  town  in  triumph,  and  soon  after  returned, 
with  the  unstained  laurels  of  victory,  to  receive  his 
father's  congratulations.  The  promptness  of  his 
movements  on  this  occasion  gained  him  credit  with 
the  Spaniards ;  and  the  fortunate  result  seemed  to 
furnish  a  favorable  augury  for  the  future. 

On  his  return,  the  prince  was  called  to  preside  over 
the  cortes  at  Monzon, — a  central  town,  where  the  dep 
uties  of  Aragon,  Catalonia,  and  Valencia  continued  to 
assemble  separately,  long  after  those  provinces  had 
been  united  to  Castile.  Philip,  with  all  the  forms 
prescribed  by  the  constitution,  received  the  homage 
of  the  representatives  assembled,  as  successor  to  the 
crown  of  Aragon. 

The  war  with  France,  which,  after  a  temporary 
suspension,  had  broken  out  with  greater  violence  than 
ever,  did  not  permit  the  emperor  long  to  protract  his 

B* 


34 


EARLY  DAYS    OF  PHILIP. 


stay  in  the  Peninsula.  Indeed,  it  seemed  to  his  Span 
ish  subjects  that  he  rarely  visited 'them  except  when  his 
exchequer  required  to  be  replenished  for  carrying  on 
his  restless  enterprises,  and  that  he  stayed  no  longer 
than  was  necessary  to  effect  this  object.  On  leaving 
the  country,  he  intrusted  the  regency  to  Philip,  under 
the  general  direction  of  a  council  consisting  of  the 
duke  of  Alva,  Cardinal  Tavera,  and  the  Comenda- 
dor  Cobos.  Some  time  after  this,  while  still  lingering 
in  Catalonia,  previous  to  his  embarkation,  Charles 
addressed  a  letter  to  his  son,  advising  him  as  to  his 
political  course,  and  freely  criticising  the  characters 
of  the  great  lords  associated  with  him  in  the  govern 
ment.  The  letter,  which  is  altogether  a  remarkable 
document,  contains  also  some  wholesome  admonitions 
on  Philip's  private  conduct.  "The  duke  of  Alva," 
the  emperor  emphatically  wrote,  "is  the  ablest  states 
man  and  the  best  soldier  I  have  in  my  dominions. 
Consult  him,  above  all,  in  military  affairs;  but  do  not 
depend  on  him  entirely  in  these  or  in  any  other  mat 
ters.  Depend  on  no  one  but  yourself.  The  grandees 
will  be  too  happy  to  secure  your  favor,  and  through 
you  to  govern  the  land.  But  if  you  are  thus  governed 
it  will  be  your  ruin.  The  mere  suspicion  of  it  will 
do  you  infinite  prejudice.  Make  use  of  all ;  but  lean 
exclusively  on  none.  In  your  perplexities,  ever  trust 
in  your  Maker.  Have  no  care  but  for  him."  The 
emperor  then  passes  some  strictures  on  the  Comen- 
dador  Cobos,  as  too  much  inclined  to  pleasure,  at  the 
same  time  admonishing  Philip  of  the  consequences  of 
a  libertine  career,  fatal  alike,  he  tells  him,  to  both  soul 
and  body.  There  seems  to  have  been  some  ground 


INTRUSTED    WITH  THE   REGENCY.  35 

for  this  admonition,  as  the  young  prince  had  shown  a 
disposition  to  gallantry,  which  did  not  desert  him  in 
later  life.  "Yet,  on  the  whole,"  says  the  monarch, 
"I  will  admit  I  have  much  reason  to  be  satisfied  with 
your  behavior.  But  I  would  have  you  perfect;  and, 
to  speak  frankly,  whatever  other  persons  may  tell  you, 
you  have  some  things  to  mend  yet.  Your  confessor," 
he  continues,  "is  now  your  old  preceptor,  the  bishop 
of  Carthagena," — to  which  see  the  worthy  professor 
had  been  recently  raised.  "  He  is  a  good  man,  as  all 
the  world  knows ;  but  I  hope  he  will  take  better  care 
of  your  conscience  than  he  did  of  your  studies,  and 
that  he  will  not  show  quite  so  accommodating  a  temper 
in  regard  to  the  former  as  he  did  with  the  latter."9 

On  the  cover  of  this  curious  epistle  the  emperor 
endorsed  a  direction  to  his  son  to  show  it  to  no  living 
person,  but,  if  he  found  himself  ill  at  any  time,  to 
destroy  the  letter  or  seal  it  up  under  cover  to  him. 
It  would,  indeed,  have  edified  those  courtiers,  who 
fancied  they  stood  highest  in  the  royal  favor,  to  see 
how  to  their  very  depths  their  characters  were  sounded, 
and  how  clearly  their  schemes  of  ambition  were  re 
vealed  to  the  eye  of  their  master.  It  was  this  admi 
rable  perception  of  character  which  enabled  Charles  so 
generally  to  select  the  right  agent  for  the  execution  of 
his  plans  and  thus  to  insure  their  success. 

The  letter  from  Palamos  is  one  among  many  similar 
proofs  of  the  care  with  which,  even  from  a  distance, 

9  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  2.— Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II., 
lorn.  i.  p.  132. — Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  Quinto,  torn.  ii.  p.  299  et 
seq. — Breve  Compendio,  MS. — Charles's  letter,  in  the  Seminario 
erudito,  torn.  xiv.  p.  156. 


3  6  EARL  Y  DA  YS   OF  PHILIP. 

Charles  watched  over  his  son's  course  and  endeavored 
to  form  his  character.  The  experienced  navigator 
would  furnish  a  chart  to  the  youthful  pilot  by  which, 
without  other  aid,  he  might  securely  steer  through  seas 
strange  and  unknown  to  him.  Yet  there  was  little 
danger  in  the  navigation,  at  this  period ;  for  Spain  lay 
in  a.  profound  tranquillity,  unruffled  by  a  breath  from 
the  rude  tempest  that  in  other  parts  of  Europe  was 
unsettling  princes  on  their  thrones. 

A  change  was  now  to  take  place  in  Philip's  domestic 
relations.  His  magnificent  expectations  made  him,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  world,  the  best  match  in  Europe. 
His  father  had  long  contemplated  the  event  of  his 
son's  marrying.  He  had  first  meditated  an  alliance 
for  him  with  Margaret,  daughter  of  Francis  the  First, 
by  which  means  the  feud  with  his  ancient  rival  might 
be  permanently  healed.  But  Philip's  inclination  was 
turned  to  an  alliance  with  Portugal.  This  latter  was 
finally  adopted  by  Charles;  and  in  December,  1542, 
Philip  was  betrothed  to  the  Infanta  Mary,  daughter  of 
John  the  Third  and  of  Catharine,  the  emperor's  sister. 
She  was,  consequently,  cousin-german  to  Philip.  At 
the  same  time,  Joanna,  Charles's  youngest  daughter, 
was  affianced  to  the  eldest  son  of  John  the  Third,  and 
heir  to  his  crown.  The  intermarriages  of  the  royal 
houses  of  Castile  and  Portugal  were  so  frequent  that 
the  several  members  stood  in  multiplied  and  most 
perplexing  degrees  of  affinity  with  one  another. 

Joanna  was  eight  years  younger  than  her  brother. 
Charles  had  one  other  child,  Mary,  born  the  year  after 
Philip.  She  was  destined  to  a  more  splendid  fortune 
than  her  sister,  as  bride  of  the  future  emperor  of  Ger- 


MARRIES  MARY  OF  PORTUGAL.  37 

many.  Since  Philip  and  the  Portuguese  princess  were 
now  both  more  than  sixteen  years  old,  being  nearly 
of  the  same  age,  it  was  resolved  that  their  marriage 
should  no  longer  be  deferred.  The  place  appointed 
for  the  ceremony  was  the  ancient  city  of  Salamanca. 

In  October,  1543,  the  Portuguese  infanta  quitted 
her  father's  palace  in  Lisbon  and  set  out  for  Castile. 
She  was  attended  by  a  numerous  train  of  nobles,  with 
the  archbishop  of  Lisbon  at  their  head.  A  splendid 
embassy  was  sent  to  meet  her  on  the  borders  and  con 
duct  her  to  Salamanca.  At  its  head  was  the  duke  of 
Medina  Sidonia,  chief  of  the  Guzmans,  the  wealthiest 
and  most  powerful  lord  in  Andalusia.  He  had  fitted 
up  his  palace  at  Badajoz  in  the  most  costly  and  sump 
tuous  style,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  princess. 
The  hangings  were  of  cloth  of  gold ;  the  couches,  the 
sideboards,  and  some  of  the  other  furniture,  of  bur 
nished  silver.  The  duke  himself  rode  in  a  superb 
litter,  and  the  mules  which  carried  it  were  shod  with 
gold.  The  members  of  his  household  and  his  retain 
ers  swelled  to  the  number  of  three  thousand,  well 
mounted,  wearing  the  liveries  and  cognizance  of  their 
master.  Among  them  was  the  duke's  private  band, 
including  several  natives  of  the  Indies, — then  not  a 
familiar  sight  in  Spain, — displaying  on  their  breasts 
broad  silver  escutcheons,  on  which  were  emblazoned 
the  arms  of  the  Guzmans.  The  chronicler  is  diffuse 
in  his  account  of  the  infanta's  reception,  from  which 
a  few  particulars  may  be  selected  for  such  as  take  an 
interest  in  the  Spanish  costume  and  manners  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

The  infanta  was  five  months  younger  than  Philip. 
Philip. — VOL.  T.  4 


3 8  EARLY  DAYS   OF  PHILIP. 

She  was  of  the  middle  size,  with  a  good  figure,  though 
.  somewhat  inclined  to  embonpoint,  and  was  distinguished 
by  a  graceful  carriage  and  a  pleasing  expression  of 
countenance.  Her  dress  was  of  cloth  of  silver,  em 
broidered  with  flowers  of  gold.  She  wore  a  capa,  or 
Castilian  mantle,  of  violet-colored  velvet,  figured  with 
gold,  and  a  hat  of  the  same  materials,  surmounted  by 
a  white  and  azure  plume.  The  housings  of  the  mule 
were  of  rich  brocade,  and  Mary  Tode  on  a  silver 
saddle. 

As  she  approached  Salamanca,  she  was  met  by  the 
rector  and  professors  of  the  university,  in  their  aca 
demic  gowns.  Next  followed  the  judges  and  regidores 
of  the  city,  in  their  robes  of  office,  of  crimson  velvet, 
with  hose  and  shoes  of  spotless  wh'te.  After  these 
came  the  military, — horse  and  foot, — in  their  several 
companies,  making  a  .brilliant  show  with  their  gay 
uniforms;  and,  after  going  through  their  various  evo 
lutions,  they  formed  into  an  escort  for  the  princess. 
In  this  way,  amidst  the  sound  of  music  and  the  shouts 
of  the  multitude,  the  glittering  pageant  entered  the 
gates  of  the  capital. 

The  infanta  was  there  received  under  a  superb 
canopy,  supported  by  the  magistrates  of  the  city. 
The  late  ambassador  to  Portugal,  Don  Luis  Sarmiento, 
who  had  negotiated  the  marriage-treaty,  held  the 
bridle  of  her  mule ;  and  in  this  state  she  arrived  at 
the  palace  of  the  duke  of  Alva,  destined  for  her  re 
ception  in  Salamanca.  Here  she  was  received  with  all 
honor  by  the  duchess,  in  the  presence  of  a  brilliant 
company  of  cavaliers  and  noble  ladies.  Each  of  the 
ladies  was  graciously  permitted  by  the  infanta  to  kiss 


MARRIES  MARY  OF  PORTUGAL.  39 

her  hand ;  but  the  duchess,  the  chronicler  is  careful 
to  inform  us,  she  distinguished  by  the  honor  of  an 
embrace. 

All  the  while,  Philip  had  been  in  the  presence  of 
the  infanta,  unknown  to  herself.  Impatient  to  see  his 
destined  bride,  the  young  prince  had  sallied  out,  with 
a  few  attendants,  to  the  distance  of  five  or  six  miles 
from  the  c'ty,  all  in  the  disguise  of  huntsmen.  He 
wore  a  slouched  velvet  hat  on  his  head,  and  his  face 
was  effectually  concealed  under  a  gauze  mask,  S-Q  that 
he  could  mingle  in  the  crowd  by  the  side  of  the  in 
fanta  and  make  his  own  scrutiny,  unmarked  by  any 
one.  In  this  way  he  accompanied  the  procession 
during  the  five  hours  which  it  lasted,  until  the  dark 
ness  had  set  in;  "if  darkness  could  be  spoken  of," 
says  the  chronicler,  "where  the  blaze  of  ten  thousand 
torches  shed  a  light  stronger  than  day." 

The  following  evening,  November  the  twelfth,  was 
appointed  for  the  marriage.  The  duke  and  duchess 
of  Alva  stood  as  sponsors,  and  the  nuptial  ceremony 
was  performed  by  Tavera,  archbishop  of  Toledo.  The 
festivities  were  prolonged  through  another  week.  The 
saloons  were  filled  with  the  beauty  of  Castile.  The 
proudest  aristocracy  in  Europe  vied  with  each  other  in 
the  display  of  magnificence  at  the  banquet  and  the 
tourney;  and  sounds  of  merriment  succeeded  to  the 
tranquillity  which  had  so  long  reigned  in  the  cloistered 
shades  of  Salamanca. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  the  month  the  new-married 
pair  transferred  their  residence  to  Valladolid, — a  city 
at  once  fortunate  and  fatal  to  the  princess.  Well 
might  the  chronicler  call  it  "fatal;"  for  in  less  than 


40  EARL  Y  DA  YS   OF  PHILIP. 

two  years,  July  8th,  1545,  she  there  gave  birth  to  a  son, 
the  celebrated  Don  Carlos,  whose  mysterious  fate  has 
furnished  so  fruitful  a  theme  for  speculation.  Mary 
survived  the  birth  of  her  child  but  a  few  days.  Had 
her  life  been  spared,  a  mother's  care  might  perhaps 
have  given  a  different  direction  to  his  character,  and, 
through  this,  to  his  fortunes.  The  remains  of  the  in 
fanta,  first  deposited  in  the  cathedral  of  Granada,  were 
afterwards  removed  to  the  Escorial,  that  magnificent 
mausoleum  prepared  by  her  husband  for  the  royalty 
of  Spain.10 

In  the  following  year  died  Tavera,  archbishop  of 
Toledo.  He  was  an  excellent  man,  and  greatly  valued 
by  the  emperor ;  who  may  be  thought  to  have  passed 
a  sufficient  encomium  on  his  worth  when  he  declared 
that  "by  his  death  Philip  had  suffered  a  greater  loss 
than  by  that  of  Mary;  for  he  could  get  another  wife, 
but  not  another  Tavera."  His  place  was  filled  by 
Siliceo,  Philip's  early  preceptor,  who,  after  having 
been  raised  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Toledo,  re 
ceived  a  cardinal's  hat  from  Rome.  The  accommodating 
spirit  of  the  good  ecclesiastic  had  doubtless  some  in 
fluence  in  his  rapid  advancement  from  the  condition 
of  a  poor  teacher  of  Salamanca  to  the  highest  post, — as 
the  see  of  Toledo,  with  its  immense  revenues  and 
authority,  might  be  considered, — next  to  the  papacy, 
in  the  Christian  Church. 

10  Florez,  Reynas  Catholicas,  torn.  ii.  pp.  883-889. — Cabrera,  Filipe 
Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  2. — Lett,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  142. — 
Breve  Compendio,  MS. — Relazione  anonimo,  MS. — For  the  particu 
lars  relating  to  the  wedding  I  am  chiefly  indebted  to  Florez,  who  is 
as  minute  in  his  account  of  court  pageants  as  any  master  of  cere 
monies. 


VISIT  TO   FLANDERS.  41 

For  some  years  no  event  of  importance  occurred  to 
disturb  the  repose  of  the  Peninsula.  But  the  emperor 
was  engaged  in  a  stormy  career  abroad,  in  which  his 
arms  were  at  length  crowned  with  success  by  the 
decisive  battle  of  Muhlberg. 

This  victory,  which  secured  him  the  person  of  his 
greatest  enemy,  placed  him  in  a  position  for  dictating 
terms  to  the  Protestant  princes  of  Germany.  He  had 
subsequently  withdrawn  to  Brussels,  where  he  received 
an  embassy  from  Philip  congratulating  him  on  the  suc 
cess  of  his  arms.  Charles  was  desirous  to  see  his  son, 
from  whom  he  had  now  been  separated  nearly  six 
years.  He  wished,  moreover,  to  introduce  him  to  the 
Netherlands  and  make  him  personally  acquainted  with 
the  people  over  whom  he  was  one  day  to  rule.  He 
sent  instructions,  accordingly,  to  Philip  to  repair  to 
Flanders  so  soon  as  the  person  appointed  to  relieve 
him  in  the  government  should  arrive  in  Castile. 

The  individual  selected  by  the  emperor  for  this 
office  was  Maximilian,  the  son  of  his  brother  Ferdi 
nand.  Maximilian  was  a  young  man  of  good  parts, 
correct  judgment,  and  popular  manners, — well  quali 
fied,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  for  the  post  assigned 
to  him.  He  was  betrothed,  as  already  mentioned,  to 
the  emperor's  eldest  daughter,  his  cousin  Mary;  and 
the  regency  was  to  be  delivered  into  his  hands  on  the 
marriage  of  the  parties. 

Philip  received  his  father's  commands  while  presid 
ing  at  the  cortes  of  Monzon.  He  found  the  Aragonese 
legislature  by  no  means  so  tractable  as  the  Castilian. 
The  deputies  from  the  mountains  of  Aragon  and  from 
the  sea-coast  of  Catalonia  were  alike  sturdy  in  their 

4* 


42  EARL  Y  DA  YS   OF  PHILIP. 

refusal  to  furnish  further  supplies  for  those  ambitious 
enterprises  which,  whatever  glory  they  might  bring  to 
their  sovereign,  were  of  little  benefit  to  them.  The 
independent  people  of  these  provinces  urged  their  own 
claims  with  a  pertinacity  and  criticised  the  conduct  of 
their  rulers  with  a  bluntness  that  was  little  grateful  to 
the  ear  of  majesty.  The  convocation  of  the  Aragonese 
cortes  was,  in  the  view  of  the  king  of  Spain,  what  the 
convocation  of  a  general  council  was  in  that  of  the 
pope, — a  measure  not  to  be  resorted  to  but  from  abso 
lute  necessity. 

On  the  arrival  of  Maximilian  in  Castile,  his  marriage 
with  the  Infanta  Mary  was  immediately  celebrated. 
The  ceremony  took  place,  with  all  the  customary 
pomp,  in  the  courtly  city  of  Valladolid.  Among  the 
festivities  that  followed  may  be  noticed  the  perform 
ance  of  a  comedy  of  Ariosto, — a  proof  that  the  beau 
tiful  Italian  literature,  which  had  exercised  a  visible 
influence  on  the  compositions  of  the  great  Castilian 
poets  of  the  time,  had  now  commended  itself  in  some 
degree  to  the  popular  taste. 

Before  leaving  the  country,  Philip,  by  his  father's 
orders,  made  a  change  in  his  domestic  establishment, 
which  he  formed  on  the  Burgundian  model.  This  was 
more  ceremonious,  and  far  more  costly,  than  the 
primitive  usage  of  Castile.  A  multitude  of  new  offices 
was  created,  and  the  most  important  were  filled  by 
grandees  of  the  highest  class.  The  duke  of  Alva  was 
made  mayor-domo  mayor;  Antonio  de  Toledo,  his 
kinsman,  master  of  the  horse;  Figueroa,  count  of 
Feria,  captain  of  the  body-guard.  Among  the  cham 
berlains  was  Ruy  Gomez  de  Silva,  prince  of  Eboli, 


VISIT   TO  FLANDERS. 


43 


one  of  the  most  important  members  of  the  cabinet 
under  Philip.  Even  the  menial  offices  connected  with 
the  person  and  table  of  the  prince  were  held  by  men 
of  rank.  A  guard  was  lodged  in  the  palace.  Philip 
dined  in  public  in  great  state,  attended  by  his  kings- 
at-arms  and  by  a  host  of  minstrels  and  musicians. 
One  is  reminded  of  the  pompous  etiquette  of  the  court 
of  Louis  the  Fourteenth.  All  this,  however,  was  dis 
tasteful  to  the* Spaniards,  who  did  not  comprehend 
why  the  prince  should  relinquish  the  simple  usages  of 
his  own  land  for  the  fashions  of  Burgundy.  Neither 
was  it  to  the  taste  of  Philip  himself;  but  it  suited  that 
of  his  father,  who  was  desirous  that  his  son  should 
flatter  the  Flemings  by  the  assumption  of  a  state  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed  in  their  Burgundian 
princes." 

Philip,  having  now  completed  his  arrangements  and 
surrendered  the  regency  into  the  hands  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  had  no  reason  longer  to  postpone  his  journey. 
He  was  accompanied  by  the  duke  of  Alva,  Enriquez, 
high-admiral  of  Castile,  Ruy  Gomez,  prince  of  Eboli, 
and  a  long  train  of  persons  of  the  highest  rank.  There 
was,  besides,  a  multitude  of  younger  cavaliers  of 
family.  The  proudest  nobles  of  the  land  contended 
for  the  honor  of  having  their  sons  take  part  in  the 
expedition.  The  number  was  still  further  augmented 
by  a  body  of  artists  and  men  of  science.  The  emperor 
was  desirous  that  Philip  should  make  an  appearance 
that  would  dazzle  the  imaginations  of  the  people 
among  whom  he  passed. 

11  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  2. — Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II., 
torn.  i.  pp.  166,  185,  et  seq. — Sepulvedae  Opera,  vol.  ii.  p.  346. 


44  EARLY  DAYS   OF  PHILIP. 

With  this  brilliant  company,  Philip  began  his  jour 
ney  in  the  autumn  of  1548.  He  took  the  road  to 
Saragossa,  made  an  excursion  to  inspect  the  fortifica 
tions  of  Perpignan,  offered  up  his  prayers  at  the  shrine 
of  Our  Lady  of  Montserrat,  passed  a  day  or  two  at 
Barcelona,  enjoying  the  fete  prepared  for  him  in  the 
pleasant  citron-gardens  of  the  cardinal  of  Trent,  and 
thence  proceeded  to  the  port  of  Rosas,  where  a 
Genoese  fleet,  over  which  proudly  waved  the  im 
perial  banner,  was  riding  at  anchor  and  awaiting  his 
arrival.  It  consisted  of  fifty-eight  vessels,  furnished 
by  Genoa,  Sicily,  and  Naples,  and  commanded  by  the 
veteran  of  a  hundred  battles,  the  famous  Andrew 
Doria. 

Philip  encountered  some  rough  weather  on  his  pas 
sage  to  Genoa.  The  doge  and  the  principal  senators 
came  out  of  port  in  a  magnificent  galley  to  receive 
him.  The  prince  landed,  amidst  the  roar  of  cannon 
from  the  walls  and  the  adjacent  fortifications,  and  was 
forthwith  conducted  to  the  mansion  of  the  Dorias, 
pre-eminent,  even  in  this  city  of  palaces,  for  its 
architectural  splendor. 

During  his  stay  in  Genoa,  Philip  received  all  the 
attentions  which  an  elegant  hospitality  could  devise. 
But  his  hours  were  not  wholly  resigned  to  pleasure. 
He  received,  every  day,  embassies  from  the  different 
Italian  states,  one  of  which  came  from  the  pope,  Paul 
the  Third,  with  his  nephew,  Ottavio  Farnese,  at  its 
head.  Its  especial  object  was  to  solicit  the  prince's 
interest  with  his  father  for  the  restitution  of  Parma 
and  Placentia  to  the  Holy  See.  Philip  answered  in 
terms  complimentary,  indeed,  says  the  historian,  "but 


VISIT  TO  FLANDERS.  45 

sufficiently  ambiguous  as  to  the  essential."  I2  He  had 
already  learned  his  first  lesson  in  kingcraft.  Not  long 
after,  the  pope  sent  him  a  consecrated  sword,  and  the 
hat  worn  by  his  holiness  on  Christmas  eve,  accom 
panied  by  an  autograph  letter,  in.  which,  after  expa 
tiating  on  the  mystic  import  of  his  gift,  he  expressed 
his  confidence  that  in  Philip  he  was  one  day  to  find 
the  true  champion  of  the  Church. 

At  the  end  of  a  fortnight  the  royal  traveller  resumed 
his  journey.  He  crossed  the  famous  battle-field  of 
Pavia,  and  was  shown  the  place  where  Francis  the 
First  surrendered  himself  a  prisoner,  and  where  the 
Spanish  ambuscade  sallied  out  and  decided  the  fortune 
of  the  day.  His  bosom  swelled  with  exultation  as  he 
rode  over  the  ground  made  memorable  by  the  most 
brilliant  victory  achieved  by  his  father,  —  a  victory 
which  opened  the  way  to  the  implacable  hatred  of  his 
vanquished  rival,  and  to  oceans  of  blood. 

From  Pavia  he  passed  on  to  Milan,  the  flourishing 
capital  of  Lombardy, — the  fairest  portion  of  the  Span 
ish  dominions  in  Italy.  Milan  was  at  that  time  second 
only  to  Naples  in  population.  It  was  second  to  no 
city  in  the  elegance  of  its  buildings,  the  splendor  of 
its  aristocracy,  the  opulence  and  mechanical  ingenuity 
of  its  burghers.  It  was  renowned,  at  the  same  time, 
for  its  delicate  fabrics  of  silk,  and  its  armor,  curiously 
wrought  and  inlaid  with  gold  and  silver.  In  all  the 
arts  of  luxury  and  material  civilization  it  was  unsur 
passed  by  any  of  the  capitals  of  Christendom. 

12  "  Non  rispose  che  in  sensi  ambigui  circa  al  punto  essenziaJe, 
ma  molto  ampi  ne*  complimenti."  Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i. 
p.  189. 


46  EARLY  DAYS   OF  PHIL  f P. 

As  the  prince  approached  the  suburbs,  a  countless 
throng  of  people  came  forth  to  greet  him.  For  fifteen 
miles  before  he  entered  the  city,  the  road  was  spanned 
by  triumphal  arches,  garlanded  with  flowers  and  fruits, 
and  bearing  inscriptions,  both  in  Latin  and  Italian, 
filled  with  praises  of  the  father  and  prognostics  of  the 
future  glory  of  the  son.  Amidst  the  concourse  were 
to  be  seen  the  noble  ladies  of  Milan,  in  gay,  fantastic 
cars,  shining  in  silk  brocade,  and  with  sumptuous 
caparisons  for  their  horses.  As  he  drew  near  the 
town,  two  hundred  mounted  gentlemen  came  out  to 
escort  him  into  the  place.  They  were  clothed  in 
complete  mail  of  the  fine  Milanese  workmanship,  and 
were  succeeded  by  fifty  pages,  in  gaudy  livery,  devoted 
to  especial  attendance  on  the  prince's  person  during 
his  residence  in  Milan. 

Philip  entered  the  gates  under  a  canopy  of  state, 
with  the  cardinal  of  Trent  on  his  right  hand,  and 
Philibert,  prince  of  Piedmont,  on  his  left.  He  was 
received  at  the  entrance  by  the  governor  of  the  place, 
attended  by  the  members  of  the  senate,  in  their  robes 
of  office.  The  houses  which  lined  the  long  street 
through  which  the  procession  passed  were  hung  with 
tapestries,  and  with  paintings  of  the  great  Italian 
masters.  The  balconies  and  verandas  were  crowded 
with  spectators,  eager  to  behold  their  future  sovereign, 
and  rending  the  air  with  their  acclamations.  The 
ceremony  of  reception  was  closed,  in  the  evening,  by 
a  brilliant  display  of  fireworks — in  which  the  Milanese 
excelled — and  by  a  general  illumination  of  the  city. 

Philip's  time  glided  away,  during  his  residence  at 
Milan,  in  a  succession  of  banquets,  fetes',  and  spec- 


VISIT  TO   FLANDERS.  47 

tacles  of  every  description  which  the  taste  and  inge 
nuity  of  the  people  could  devise  for  the  amusement  of 
their  illustrious  guest.  With  none  was  he  more  pleased 
than  with  the  theatrical  entertainments,  conducted 
with  greater  elegance  and  refinement  in  Italy  than  in 
any  of  the  countries  beyond  the  Alps.  Nor  was  he 
always  a  passive  spectator  at  these  festivities.  He  was 
especially  fond  of  dancing,  in  which  his  light  and 
agile  figure  fitted  him  to  excel.  In  the  society  of 
ladies  he  lost  much  of  his  habitual  reserve ;  and  the 
dignified  courtesy  of  his  manners  seems  to  have  made 
a  favorable  impression  on  the  fair  dames  of  Italy,  who 
were  probably  not  less  pleased  by  the  display  of  his 
munificence.  To  the  governor's  wife,  who  had  enter 
tained  him  at  a  splendid  ball,  he  presented  a  diamond 
ring  worth  five  thousand  ducats ;  and  to  her  daughter 
he  gave  a  necklace  of  rubies  worth  three  thousand. 
Similar  presents,  of  less  value,  he  bestowed  on  others 
of  the  court,  extending  his  liberality  even  to  the  mu 
sicians  and  inferior  persons  who  had  contributed  to 
his  entertainment.  To  the  churches  he  gave  still  more 
substantial  proofs  of  his  generosity.  In  short,  he 
showed  on  all  occasions  a  munificent  spirit  worthy  of 
his  royal  station. 

He  took  some  pains,  moreover,  to  reciprocate  the 
civilities  he  had  received,  by  entertaining  his  hosts  in 
return.  He  was  particularly  fortunate  in  exhibiting 
to  them  a  curious  spectacle,  which,  even  with  this 
pleasure-loving  people,  had  the  rare  merit  of  novelty. 
This  was  the  graceful  tourney  introduced  into  Castile 
from  the  Spanish  Arabs.  The  highest  nobles  in  his 
suite  took  the  lead  in  it.  The  cavaliers  were  arranged 


48  EARL  Y  DA  YS   OF  PHILIP. 

in  six  quadrilles,  or  factions,  each  wearing  its  dis 
tinctive  livery  and  badges,  with  their  heads  protected 
by  shawls,  or  turbans,  wreathed  around  them  in  the 
Moorish  fashion.  They  were  mounted  a  la  gineta, 
that  is,  on  the  light  jennet  of  Andalusia, — a  cross  of 
the  Arabian.  In  their  hands  they  brandished  their 
slender  lances,  with  long  streamers  attached  to  them, 
of  some  gay  color,  that  denoted  the  particular  faction 
of  the  cavalier.  Thus  lightly  equipped  and  mounted, 
the  Spanish  knights  went  through  the  delicate  man 
oeuvres  of  the  Moorish  tilt  of  reeds,  showing  an  easy 
horsemanship  and  performing  feats  of  agility  and 
grace  which  delighted  the  Italians,  keenly  alive  to  the 
beautiful,  but  hitherto  accustomed  only  to  the  more 
ponderous  and  clumsy  exercises  of  the  European 
tourney.13 

After  some  weeks,  Prince  Philip  quitted  the  hospi 
table  walls  of  Milan  and  set  out  for  the  north.  Before 
leaving  the  place,  he  was  joined  by  a  body  of  two  hun 
dred  mounted  arquebusiers,  wearing  his  own  yellow 
uniform  and  commanded  by  the  duke  of  Aerschot. 
They  had  been  sent  to  him  as  an  escort  by  his  father. 
He  crossed  the  Tyrol,  then  took  the  road  by  the  way 
of  Munich,  Trent,  and  Heidelberg,  and  so  on  towards 
Flanders.  On  all  the  route  the  royal  party  was  beset  by 
multitudes  of  both  sexes,  pressing  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  young  prince  who  was  one  day  to  sway  the 
mightiest  sceptre  in  Europe.  The  magistrates  of  the 
cities  through  which  he  passed  welcomed  him  with 

*3  Estrella,  El  felicissimo  Viaje  del  Principe  Don  Phelipe  desde 
Espana  d  sus  Tierras  de  la  Baxa  Alemania  (Anveres,  1552),  pp.  1-21, 
32. — Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  189. — Breve  Compendio,  MS. 


VISIT   TO   FLANDERS.  49 

complimentary  addresses,  and  with  presents,  frequently 
in  the  form  of  silver  urns,  or  goblets,  filled  with  golden 
ducats.  Philip  received  the  donatives  with  a  gracious 
condescension;  and,  in  truth,  they  did  not  come  amiss 
in  this  season  of  lavish  expenditure.  To  the  addresses 
the  duke  of  Alva,  who  rode  by  the  prince's  side, 
usually  responded.  The  whole  of  the  long  journey 
was  performed  on  horseback, — the  only  sure  mode  of 
conveyance  in  a  country  where  the  roads  were  seldom 
practicable  for  carriages. 

At  length,  after  a  journey  of  four  months,  the  royal 
cavalcade  drew  near  the  city  of  Brussels.  Their  ap 
proach  to  a  great  town  was  intimated  by  the  crowds 
who  came  out  to  welcome  them ;  and  Philip  was 
greeted  with  a  tumultuous  enthusiasm  which  made 
him  feel  that  he  was  now  indeed  in  the  midst  of  his 
own  people.  The  throng  was  soon  swelled  by  bodies 
of  the  military ;  and  with  this  loyal  escort,  amidst  the 
roar  of  artillery  and  the  ringing  of  bells,  which  sent 
forth  a  merry  peal  from  every  tower  and  steeple,  Philip 
made  his  first  entrance  into  the  capital  of  Belgium. 

The  Regent  Mary  held  her  court  there,  and  her 
brother,  the  emperor,  was  occupying  the  palace  with 
her.  It  was  not  long  before  the  father  had  again  the 
satisfaction  of  embracing  his  son,  from  whom  he  had 
been  separated  so  many  years.  He  must  have  been 
pleased  with  the  alteration  which  time  had  wrought  in 
Philip's  appearance.  He  was  now  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  and  was  distinguished  by  a  comeliness  of  person 
remarked  upon  by  more  than  one  who  had  access  to 
his  presence.  Their  report  is  confirmed  by  the  por 
traits  of  him  from  the  pencil  of  Titian, — taken  before 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — c  5 


5o  EARLY  DAYS   OF  PHILIP. 

the  freshness  of  youth  had  faded  into  the  sallow  hue 
of  disease,  and  when  care  and  anxiety  had  not  yet 
given  a  sombre,  perhaps  sullen,  expression  to  his 
features. 

He  had  a  fair,  and  even  delicate,  complexion.  His 
hair  and  beard  were  of  a  light  yellow.  His  eyes  were 
blue,  with  the  eyebrows  somewhat  too  closely  knit 
together.  His  nose  was  thin  and  aquiline.  The  prin 
cipal  blemish  in  his  countenance  was  his  thick  Austrian 
lip.  His  lower  jaw  protruded  even  more  than  that  of 
his  father.  To  his  father,  indeed,  he  bore  a  great 
resemblance  in  his  lineaments,  though  those  of  Philip 
were  of  a  less  intellectual  cast.  In  stature  he  was 
somewhat  below  the  middle  height,  with  a  slight,  sym 
metrical  figure  and  well-made  limbs.  He  was  attentive 
to  his  dress,  which  was  rich  and  elegant,  but  without 
any  affectation  of  ornament.  His  demeanor  was  grave, 
with  that  ceremonious  observance  which  marked  the 
old  Castilian,  and  which  may  be  thought  the  natural 
expression  of  Philip's  slow  and  phlegmatic  temper 
ament.14 

During  his  long  stay  in  Brussels,  Charles  had  the 
opportunity  of  superintending  his  son's  education  in 
one  department  in  which  it  was  deficient, — the  science 
of  government.  And  surely  no  instructor  could  have 

*4  "  Sua  altezza  si  trova  hora  in  XXIII.  anni,  di  complessione  deli- 
catissima  e  di  statura  minore  che  mediocre,  nella  faccia  simiglia  assai 
al  Padre  e  nel  mento."  Relatione  del  Clarissimo  Monsig.  Marino 
Cavalli  tomato  Ambasciatore  del  Imperatore  Carlo  Quinto  1'anno 
1551,  MS. — "  Et  benche  sia  picciolo  di  persona,  e  per6  cosi  ben  fatto 
et  con  ogni  parte  del  corpo  cosi  ben  proportionata  et  corrispondente 
al  tutto,  et  veste  con  tanta  politezza  et  con  tanto  giudicio  che  noji  si 
pud  vedere  cosa  piu  perfetta."  Relatione  di  Michcle  Soriano,  MS. 


VISIT   TO   FLANDERS,  51 

been  found  with  larger  experience  than  the  man  who 
had  been  at  the  head  of  all  the  great  political  move 
ments  in  Europe  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 
Philip  passed  some  time  every  day  in  his  father's 
cabinet,  conversing  with  him  on  public  affairs,  or 
attending  the  sessions  of  the  council  of  state.  It  can 
hardly  be  doubted  that  Charles,  in  his  private  instruc 
tion,  inculcated  on  his  son  two  principles  so  prominent 
throughout  Philip's  administration, — to  maintain  the 
royal  authority  in  its  full  extent,  and  to  enforce  a  strict 
conformity  to  the  Roman  Catholic  communion.  It  is 
probable  that  he  found  his  son  an  apt  and  docile 
scholar.  Philip  acquired,  at  least,  such  habits  of 
patient  application,  and  of  watching  over  the  execu 
tion  of  his  own  plans,  as  have  been  possessed  by  few 
princes.13 

The  great  object  of  Philip's  visit  to  the  Low  Countries 
had  been,  to  present  himself  to  the  people  of  the  dif 
ferent  provinces,  to  study  their  peculiar  characters  on 
their  own  soil,  and  to  obtain  their  recognition  as  their 
future  sovereign.  After  a  long  residence  at  Brussels, 
he  set  out  on  a  tour  through  the  provinces.  He  was 
accompanied  by  the  queen-regent,  and  by  the  same 
splendid  retinue  as  on  his  entrance  into  the  country, 

*5  Marino  Cavalli,  the  ambassador  at  the  imperial  court,  who  states 
the  facts  mentioned  in  the  text,  expresses  a  reasonable  doubt  whether 
Philip,  with  all  his  training,  would  ever  equal  his  father:  "  Nelle  cose 
d'  importanza,  facendolo  andare  1'  imperatore  ogni  giorno  per  due  o 
tre  hore  nella  sua  camera,  parte  in  Consiglio  et  parte  per  ammaestrarlo 
da  solo  a  solo,  dicesi  che  fin  hora  a  fatto  profitto  assai,  et  da  speranza 
di  proceder  piu  oltre ;  ma  la  grandezza  di  suo  padre  et  1'  esser  nato 
grande  et  non  haver  fin  qui  provato  travaglio  alcuno,  non  lo  fara  mai 
comparir  a  gran  giunta  eguale  all*  Imperatore."  Relatione  di  Marino 
Cavalli,  MS. 


52  EARLY  DAYS   OF  PHILIP. 

with  the  addition  of  a  large  number  of  the  Flemish 
nobles. 

The  Netherlands  had  ever  been  treated  by  Charles 
with  particular  favor,  and  under  this  royal  patronage, 
although  the  country  did  not  develop  its  resources  as 
under  its  own  free  institutions  of  a  later  period,  it  had 
greatly  prospered.  It  was  more  thickly  studded  with 
trading  towns  than  any  country  of  similar  extent  in 
Europe;  and  its  flourishing  communities  held  the  first 
rank  in  wealth,  industry,  and  commercial  enterprise, 
as  well  as  in  the  splendid  way  of  living  maintained  by 
the  aristocracy.  On  the  present  occasion  these  com 
munities  vied  with  one  another  in  their  loyal  demon 
strations  towards  the  prince  and  in  the  splendor  of  the 
reception  which  they  gave  him.  A  work  was  compiled 
by  one  of  the  royal  suite,  setting  forth  the  manifold 
honors  paid  to  Philip  through  the  whole  of  the  tour, 
which  even  more  than  his  former  journey  had  the 
aspect  of  a  triumphal  progress.  The  book  grew,  under 
the  hands  of  its  patriotic  author,  to  the  size  of  a  bulky 
folio,  which,  however  interesting  to  his  contemporaries, 
would  have  but  slender  attraction  for  the  present  gen 
eration.16  The  mere  inscriptions  emblazoned  on  the 
triumphal  arches  and  on  the  public  buildings  spread 
over  a  multitude  of  pages.  They  were  both  in  Latin 
and  in  the  language  of  the  country,  and  they  augured 
the  happy  days  in  store  for  the  nation  when,  under  the 
benignant  sceptre  of  Philip,  it  should  enjoy  the  sweets 

16  This  is  the  work  by  Estrella  already  quoted  (El  felicissimo  Viage 
del  Principe  Don  Phelipe), — the  best  authority  for  this  royal  progress. 
The  work,  which  was  never  reprinted,  has  now  become  extremely 
rare. 


PUBLIC  FESTIVITIES. 


53 


of  tranquillity  and  freedom.  Happy  auguries  !  which 
showed  that  the  prophet  was  not  gifted  with  the  spirit 
of  prophecy.17 

In  these  solemnities,  Antwerp  alone  expended  fifty 
thousand  pistoles.  But  no  place  compared  with  Brus 
sels  in  the  costliness  and  splendor  of  its  festivities,  the 
most  remarkable  of  which  was  a  tournament.  Under 
their  Burgundian  princes  the  Flemings  had  been  familiar 
with  these  chivalrous  pageants.  The  age  of  chivalry 
was,  indeed,  fast  fading  away  before  the  use  of  gun 
powder  and  other  improvements  in  military  science. 
But  it  was  admitted  that  no  tourney  had  been  main 
tained  with  so  much  magnificence  and  knightly  prowess 
since  the  days  of  Charles  the  Bold.  The  old  chroni 
cler's  narrative  of  the  event,  like  the  pages  of  Froissart, 
seems  instinct  with  the  spirit  of  a  feudal  age.  I  will 
give  a  few  details,  at  the  hazard  of  appearing  trivial  to 
those  who  may  think  we  have  dwelt  long  enough  on 
the  pageants  of  the  courts  of  Castile  and  Burgundy. 
But  such  pageants  form  part  of  the  natural  accompani 
ment  of  a  picturesque  age,  and  the  illustrations  they 
afford  of  the  manners  of  the  time  may  have  an  interest 
for  the  student  of  history. 

The  tourney  was  held  in  a  spacious  square,  enclosed 
for  the  purpose,  in  front  of  the  great  palace  of  Brus 
sels.  Four  knights  were  prepared  to  maintain  the 
field  against  all  comers,  and  jewels  of  price  were  to  be 
awarded  as  the  prize  of  the  victors.  The  four  chal- 

*7  Take  the  following  samples,  the  former  being  one  of  the  inscrip 
tions  at  Arras,  the  latter,  one  over  the  gate  at  Dordrecht : 

"  dementia  firmabitur  thronus  ejus." 
"  Te  duce  libertas  tranquilla  pace  beabit." 

5* 


54  EARLY  DAYS   OF  PHILIP. 

lengers  were  Count  Mansfeldt,  Count  Hoorne,  Count 
Aremberg,  and  the  Sieur  de  Hubermont;  among  the 
judges  was  the  duke  of  Alva ;  and  in  the  list  of  the 
successful  antagonists  we  find  the  names  of  Prince 
Philip  of  Spain,  Emanuel  Philibert,  duke  of  Savoy, 
and  Count  Egmont.  These  are  names  famous  in 
history.  It  is  curious  to  observe  how  the  men  who 
were  soon  to  be  at  deadly  feud  with  one  another 
were  thus  sportively  met  to  celebrate  the  pastimes  of 
chivalry. 

The  day  was  an  auspicious  one,  and  the  lists  were 
crowded  with  the  burghers  of  Brussels  and  the  people 
of  the  surrounding  country,  The  galleries  which  en 
compassed  the  area  were  graced  with  the  rank  and 
beauty  of  the  capital.  A.  canopy,  embroidered  with 
the  imperial  arms  in  crimson  and  gold,  indicated  the 
place  occupied  by  Charles  the  Fifth  and  his  sisters,  the 
regent  of  the  Netherlands  and  the  dowager  queen  of 
France. 

For  several  hours  the  field  was  gallantly  maintained 
by  the  four  challengers  against  every  knight  who  was 
ambitious  to  prove  his  prowess  in  the  presence  of 
so  illustrious  an  assembly.  At  length  the  trumpets 
sounded,  and  announced  the  entrance  of  four  cavaliers, 
whose  brilliant  train  of  followers  intimated  them  to  be 
persons  of  high  degree.  The  four  knights  were  Prince 
Philip,  the  duke  of  Savoy,  Count  Egmont,  and  Juan 
Manriquez  de  Lara,  major-domo  of  the  emperor.  They 
'were  clothed  in  complete  mail,  over  which  they  wore 
surcoats  of  violet-colored  velvet,  while  the  caparisons 
of  their  horses  were  of  cloth  of  gold. 

Philip  ran  the  first  course.     His  antagonist  was  the 


PUBLIC  FESTIVITIES. 


55 


Count  Mansfeldt,  a  Flemish  captain  of  great  renown. 
At  the  appointed  signal,  the  two  knights  spurred 
against  each  other,  and  met  in  the  centre  of  the  lists, 
with  a  shock  xthat  shivered  their  lances  to  the  very 
grasp.  Both  knights  reeled  in  their  saddles,  but 
neither  lost  his  seat.  The  arena  resounded  with  the 
plaudits  of  the  spectators,  not  the  less  hearty  that  one 
of  the  combatants  was  the  heir  apparent. 

The  other  cavaliers  then  tilted,  with  various  success. 
A  general  tournament  followed,  in  which  every  knight 
eager  to  break  a  lance  on  this  fair  occasion  took  part ; 
and  many  a  feat  of  arms  was  performed,  doubtless  long 
remembered  by  the  citizens  of  Brussels.  At  the  end 
of  the  seventh  hour,  a  flourish  of  trumpets  announced 
the  conclusion  of  the  contest ;  and  the  assembly  broke 
up  in  admirable  order,  the  knights  retiring  to  exchange 
their  heavy  panoplies  for  the  lighter  vestments  of  the 
ball-room.  A  banquet  was  prepared  by  the  munici 
pality,  in  a  style  of  magnificence  worthy  of  their  royal 
guests.  The  emperor  and  his  sisters  honored  it  with 
their  presence,  and  witnessed  the  distribution  of  the 
prizes.  Among  these,  a  brilliant  ruby,  the  prize 
awarded  for  the  lan$a  de  las  damas, — the  "  ladies' 
lance,"  in  the  language  of  chivalry, — was  assigned  by 
the  loyal  judges  to  Prince  Philip  of  Spain. 

Dancing  succeeded  to  the  banquet ;  and  the  high 
bred  courtesy  of  the  prince  was  as  much  commended 
in  the  ball-room  as  his  prowess  had  been  in  the  lists. 
Maskers  mingled  with  the  dancers,  in  Oriental  costume, 
some  in  the  Turkish,  others  in  the  Albanian  fashion. 
The  merry  revels  were  not  prolonged  beyond  the  hour 
of  midnight,  when  the  company  broke  up,  loudly  com- 


56  EARLY  DAYS   OF  PHILIP. 

mending,  as  they  withdrew,  the  good  cheer  afforded 
them  by  the  hospitable  burghers  of  Brussels.18 

Philip  won  the  prize  on  another  occasion,  when  he 
tilted  against  a  valiant  knight  named  Quinones.  He 
was  not  so  fortunate  in  an  encounter  with  the  son  of 
his  old  preceptor,  Zuniga,  in  which  he  was  struck  with 
such  force  on  the  head  that,  after  being  carried  some 
distance  by  his  horse,  he  fell  senseless  from  the  saddle. 
The  alarm  was  great,  but  the  accident  passed  away 
without  serious  consequences.19 

There  were  those  who  denied  him  skill  in  the 
management  of  his  lance.  Marillac,  the  French  am 
bassador  at  the  imperial  court,  speaking  of  a  tourney 
given  by  Philip  in  honor  of  the  princess  of  Lorraine, 
at  Augsburg,  says  he  never  saw  worse  lance-playing 
in  his  life.  At  another  time,  he  remarks  that  the 
Spanish  prince  could  not  even  hit  his  antagonist.20 
It  must  have  been  a  very  palpable  hit  to  be  noticed 
by  a  Frenchman.  The  French  regarded  the  Spaniards 
of  that  day  in  much  the  same  manner  as  they  regarded 
the  English  at  an  earlier  period,  or  as  they  have  con 
tinued  to  regard  them  at  a  later.  The  long  rivalry  of 

18  "  Assi  fueron  a  palacio  siendo  ya  casi  la  media  noche,  quando  se 
vuieron  apeado  muy  contentos  de  la  fiesta  y  Vanquete,  que  la  villa  les 
hiziera."  Estrella,  Viage  del  Principe  Phelipe,  p.  73. 

*9  "  Ictum  accepit  in  capite  galeaque  tam  vehementem,  ut  vecors  ac 
dormienti  similis  parumper  invectus  ephippio  delaberetur,  et  in  caput 
armis  superiorem  corporis  partem  gravius  deprimentibus  caderet. 
Itaque  semianimis  pulvere  spiritum  intercludente  jacuit,  donee  a  suis 
sublevatus  est."  Sepulvedae  Opera,  vol.  ii.  p.  381. 

20  Raumer.  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Centuries,  vol.  i.  p.  24. — 
Von  Raumer's  abstract  of  the  MSS.  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Paris 
contains  some  very  curious  particulars  for  the  illustration  of  the  reigns 
both  of  Charles  the  Fifth  and  of  Philip. 


PUBLIC  FESTIVITIES.  57 

the  French  and  Spanish  monarchs  had  infused  into  the 
breasts  of  their  subjects  such  feelings  of  mutual  aversion 
that  the  opinions  of  either  nation  in  reference  to  the 
other,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  must  be  received  with 
the  greatest  distrust. 

But  whatever  may  have  been  Philip's  success  in  these 
chivalrous  displays,  it  is  quite  certain  they  were  not  to 
his  taste.  He  took  part  in  them  only  to  conform  to 
his  father's  wishes  and  to  the  humor  of  the  age. 
Though  in  his  youth  he  sometimes  hunted,  he  was 
neither  fond  of  field-sports  nor  of  the  athletic  exercises 
of  chivalry.  His  constitution  was  far  from  robust.  He 
sought  to  invigorate  it  less  by  exercise  than  by  diet. 
He  confined  himself  almost  wholly  to  meat,  as  the 
most  nutritious  food ;  abstaining  even  from  fish,  as 
well  as  from  fruit.21  Besides  his  indisposition  to  active 
exercises,  he  had  no  relish  for  the  gaudy  spectacles  so 
fashionable  in  that  romantic  age.  The  part  he  had 
played  in  the  pageants,  during  his  long  tour,  had  not 
been  of  his  own  seeking.  Though  ceremonious,  and 
exacting  deference  from  all  who  approached  him,  he 
was  not  fond  of  the  pomp  and  parade  of  a  court  life. 
He  preferred  to  pass  his  hours  in  the  privacy  of  his  own 
apartment,  where  he  took  pleasure  in  the  conversation 
of  a  few  whom  he  honored  with  his  regard.  It  was 

21  "  E  S.  M.  di  complessione  molto  delicata,  et  per  questo  vive  sem- 
pre  con  regola,  usando  per  1'  ordinario  cibi  di  gran  nodrimento,  lasci- 
ando  i  pesci,  frutti  et  simili  cose  che  generano  cattivi  humori ;  dorme 
molto,  fa  poco  essercitio,  et  i  suoi  trattenimenti  domestic!  sono  tutti 
quieti ;  et  benche  nell'  essercitio  habbia  mostrato  un  poco  piu  di  pron- 
tezza  et  di  vivacita,  perd  si  vede  che  ha  sforzato  la  sua  natura,  la  quale 
inclina  piu  alia  quiete  che  all'  essercitio,  piu  al  riposo  che  al  tra- 
vaglio."  Relatione  di  Michele  Soriano,  MS. 


5g  EARL  Y  DA  YS   OF  PHILIP. 

with  difficulty  that  the  emperor  could  induce  him  to 
leave  his  retirement  and  present  himself  in  the  audience- 
chamber  or  accompany  him  on  visits  of  ceremony.22 

These  reserved  and  quiet  tastes  of  Philip  by  no  means 
recommended  him  to  the  Flemings,  accustomed  as  they 
were  to  the  pomp  and  profuse  magnificence  of  the 
Burgundian  court.  Their  free  and  social  tempers  were 
chilled  by  his  austere  demeanor.  They  contrasted  it 
with  the  affable  deportment  of  his  father,  who  could  so 
well  conform  to  the  customs  of  the  different  nations 
under  his  sceptre,  and  who  seemed  perfectly  to  com 
prehend  their  characters,  —  the  astute  policy  of  the 
Italian,  the  homebred  simplicity  of  the  German,  and 
the  Castilian  propriety  and  point  of  honor.23  With 
the  latter  only  of  these  had  Philip  any  thing  in  com 
mon.  He  was  in  every  thing  a  Spaniard.  He  talked 
of  nothing,  seemed  to  think  of  nothing,  but  Spain.24 
The  Netherlands  were  to  him  a  foreign  land,  with 
which  he  had  little  sympathy.  His  counsellors  and 
companions  were  wholly  Spanish.  The  people  of 

22  "  Rarissime  volte  va  fuora  in  Campagna,  ha  piacere  di  starsi  in 
Camera,  co  suoi  favoriti,  a  ragionare  di  cose  private ;  et  se  tall'  hora 
1'  Imperatore  lo  manda  in  visita,*  si  scusa  per  godere  la  solita  quiete." 
Relatione  di  Marino  Cavalli,  MS. 

23  "  Pare  che  la  natura  1*  habbia  fatto  atto  con  la  familiar!  ta  e  do- 
mestichezza  a  gratificare  a  Fiammenghi  et  Borgognoni,  con  1'  ingegno 
et  prudentia  a  gl'  Italiani,  con  la  riputatione  et  severita  alii  Spagnuoli ; 
vedcndo  hora  in  suo  figliulo  altrimente  sentono  non  picciolo  dispiacere 
di  questo  cambio."     Ibid.,  MS. 

2*  "  Philippus  ipse  Hispaniee  desiderio  magnopere  sestuabat,  nee 
aliud  quam  Hispaniam  loquebatur."  Sepulvedas  Opera,  vol.  ii.  p.  401. 


*  [In  the  copy  edited  by  Alberi  the  reading  is  "  manda  a  chiamare," 
which  expresses  more  clearly  what  is  probably  the  real  meaning. — El).] 


AMBITIOUS  SCHEMES. 


59 


Flanders  felt  that  under  his  sway  little  favor  was  to  be 
shown  to  them ;  and  they  looked  forward  to  the  time 
when  all  the  offices  of  trust  in  their  own  country  would 
be  given  to  Castilians,  in  the  same  manner  as  those 
of  Castile,  in  the  early  days  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  had 
been  given  to  Flemings.25 

Yet  the  emperor  seemed  so  little  aware  of  his  son's 
unpopularity  that  he  was  at  this  very  time  making 
arrangements  for  securing  to  him  the  imperial  crown. 
He  had  summoned  a  meeting  of  the  electors  and  great 
lords  of  the  empire,  to  be  held  at  Augsburg,  in  August, 
1550.  There  he  proposed  to  secure  Philip's  election 
as  King  of  the  Romans,  so  soon  as  he  had  obtained  his 
brother  Ferdinand's  surrender  of  that  dignity.  But 
Charles  did  not  show,  in  all  this,  his  usual  knowledge 
of  human  nature.  The  lust  of  power  on  his  son's 
account — ineffectual  for  happiness  as  he  had  found  the 
possession  of  it  in  his  own  case — seems  to  have  entirely 
blinded  him. 

He  repaired  with  Philip  to  Augsburg,  where  they 
were  met  by  Ferdinand  and  the  members  of  the  Ger 
man  diet.  But  it  was  in  vain  that  Charles  solicited 
his  brother  to  waive  his  claim  to  the  imperial  succes 
sion  in  favor  of  his  nephew.  Neither  solicitations  nor 
arguments,  backed  by  the  entreaties,  even  the  tears,  it 
is  said,  of  their  common  sister,  the  Regent  Mary, 
could  move  Ferdinand  to  forego  the  splendid  inherit 
ance.  Charles  was  not  more  successful  when  he 
changed  his  ground  and  urged  his  brother  to  acquiesce 

25  "Si  fa  giudicio,  che  quando  egli  succedera  al  governo  delli  stati 
suoi  debba  servirsi  in  tutto  et  per  tutto  delli  ministri  Spagnuoli,  alia 
qual  natione  e  inclinato  piu  di  quello  che  si  convenga  a  prencipe 
che  voglia  dominare  a  diversi."  Relatione  di  Marino  Cavalli,  MS. 


6o  EARL  Y  DA  YS   QF  PHILIP. 

in  Philip's  election  as  his  successor  in  the  dignity  of 
King  of  the  Romans,  or,  at  least,  in  his  being  asso 
ciated  in  that  dignity — a  thing  unprecedented — with 
his  cousin  Maximilian,  Ferdinand's  son,  who,  it  was 
understood,  was  destined  by  the  electors  to  succeed 
his  father. 

This  young  prince,  who  meanwhile  had  been  sum 
moned  to  Augsburg,  was  as  little  disposed  as  Ferdi 
nand  had  been  to  accede  to  the  proposals  of  his  too 
grasping  father-in-law;  though  he  courteously  alleged, 
as  the  ground  of  his  refusal,  that  he  had  no  right  to 
interfere  with  the  decision  of  the  electors.  He  might 
safely  rest  his  cause  on  their  decision.  They  had  no 
desire  to  perpetuate  the  imperial  sceptre  in  the  line  of 
Castilian  monarchs.  They  had  suffered  enough  from 
the  despotic  temper  of  Charles  the  Fifth;  and  this 
temper  they  had  no  reason  to  think  would  be  miti 
gated  in  the  person  of  Philip.  They  desired  a  German 
to  rule  over  them, — one  who  would  understand  the 
German  character  and  enter  heartily  into  the  feelings 
of  the  people.  Maximilian's  directness  of  purpose  and 
kindly  nature  had  won  largely  on  the  affections  of  his 
countrymen,  and  proved  him,  in  their  judgment, 
worthy  of  the  throne.26 

Philip,  on  the  other  hand,  was  even  more  distasteful 
to  the  Germans  than  he  was  to  the  Flemings.  It  was 
in  vain  that  at  their  banquets  he  drank  twice  or  thrice 
as  much  as  he  was  accustomed  to  do,  until  the  cardinal 
of  Trent  assured  him  that  he  was  fast  gaining  in  the 

26  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  3. — Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II., 
torn.  i.  pp.  195-198. — Sepulvedre  Opera,  vol.  ii.  pp.  399-401. — Marillac, 
ap.  Raumer,  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Centuries,  vol.  i.  p.  28  et  seq. 


AMBITIOUS  SCHEMES.  6 1 

good  graces  of  the  people.27  The  natural  haughtiness 
of  his  temper  showed  itself  on  too  many  occasions  to 
be  mistaken.  When  Charles  returned  to  his  palace, 
escorted,  as  he  usually  was,  by  a  train  of  nobles  and 
princes  of  the  empire,  he  would  courteously  take  them 
by  the  hand,  and  raise  his  hat,  as  he  parted  from  them. 
But  Philip,  it  was  observed,  on  like  occasions  walked 
directly  into  the  palace,  without  so  much  as  turning 
round  or  condescending  in  any  way  to  notice  the 
courtiers  who  had  accompanied  him.  This  was  taking 
higher  ground  even  than  his  father  had  done.  In  fact, 
it  was  said  of  him  that  he  considered  himself  greater 
than  his  father,  inasmuch  as  the  son  of  an  emperor  was 
greater  than  the  son  of  a  king!28 — a  foolish  vaunt,  not 
the  less  indicative  of  his  character  that  it  was  made  for 
him,  probably,  by  the  Germans.  In  short,  Philip's 
manners,  which,  in  the  language  of  a  contemporary, 
had  been  little  pleasing  to  the  Italians  and  positively 
displeasing  to  the  Flemings,  were  altogether  odious  to 
the  Germans.29 

Nor  was  the  idea  of  Philip's  election  at  all  more 
acceptable  to  the  Spaniards  themselves.  That  nation 
had  been  long  enough  regarded  as  an  appendage  to 
the  empire.  Their  pride  had  been  wounded  by  the 

27  Marillac,  ap.  Raumer,  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Centuries,  vol. 
i.  p.  30. 

28  Ranke,  Ottoman  and  Spanish  Empires  in  the  Sixteenth  and  Sev 
enteenth  Centuries  (Eng.  trans.,  London,  1843),  P-  31- 

29  "  Da  cosi  fatta  educatione  ne  segui  quando  S.  M.  usci  la  prima 
volta  da  Spagna,  et  passd  per  Italia  et  per  Germania  in  Fiandra,  Iasci6 
impressione  da  per  tutto  che  fosse  d'animo  severe  et  intrattabile ;  et 
pero  fu  poco  grato  a  Italiani,  ingratissimo  a  Fiamenghi  et  a  Tedeschi 
odioso."     Relatione  di  Michele  Soriano,  MS. 

Philip.— Vol.  T.  6 


62  EARLY  DAYS   OF  PHILIP. 

light  in  which  they  were  held  by  Charles,  who  seemed 
to  look  on  Spain  as  a  royal  domain,  valuable  chiefly 
for  the  means  it  afforded  him  for  playing  his  part  on 
the  great  theatre  of  Europe.  The  haughty  Castilian 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  conscious  of  his  superior  pre 
tensions,  could  ill  brook  this  abasement.  He  sighed 
for  a  prince  born  and  bred  in  Spain,  who  would  be 
content  to  pass  his  life  in  Spain,  and  would  have  no 
ambition  unconnected  with  her  prosperity  and  glory. 
The  Spaniards  were  even  more  tenacious  on  this  head 
than  the  Germans.  Their  remote  situation  made  them 
more  exclusive,  more  strictly  national,  and  less  tolerant 
of  foreign  influence.  They  required  a  Spaniard  to  rule 
over  them.  Such  was  Philip;  and  they  anticipated  the 
hour  when  Spain  should  be  divorced  from  the  empire 
and,  under  the  sway  of  a  patriotic  prince,  rise  to  her 
just  pre-eminence  among  the  nations. 

Yet  Charles,  far  from  yielding,  continued  to  press 
the  point  with  such  pertinacity  that  it  seemed  likely  to 
lead  to  an  open  rupture  between  the  different  branches 
of  his  family.  For  a  time  Ferdinand  kept  his  apart 
ment,  and  had  no  intercourse  with  Charles  or  his 
sister.30  Yet  in  the  end  the  genius  or  the  obstinacy  of 
Charles  so  far  prevailed  over  his  brother  that  he  ac 
quiesced  in  a  private  compact,  by  which,  while  he  was 

3°  Marillac,  ap.  Raumer,  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Centuries,  vol. 
i.  p.  32. — See  also  the  characteristic  letter  of  Charles  to  his  sister,  the 
regent  of  the  Netherlands  (December  i6th,  1550),  full  of  angry  ex 
pressions  against  Ferdinand  for  his  ingratitude  and  treachery.  The 
scheme,  according  to  Charles's  view  of  it,  was  calculated  for  the  ben 
efit  of  both  parties, — "  ce  que  convenoit  pour  cstablir  noz  maisons." 
Lanz,  Correspondenz  des  Kaisers  Karl  V.  (Leipzig,  1846),  B.  iii. 
s.  18. 


RETURNS    TO   SPAIN.  63 

to  retain  possession  of  the  imperial  crown,  it  was 
agreed  that  Philip  should  succeed  him  as  King  of  the 
Romans,  and  that  Maximilian  should  succeed  Philip.31 
Ferdinand  hazarded  little  by  concessions  which  could 
never  be  sanctioned  by  the  electoral  college.  The 
reverses  which  befell  the  emperor's  arms  in  the  course 
of  the  following  year  destroyed  whatever  influence  he 
might  have  possessed  in  that  body;  and  he  seems 
never  to  have  revived  his  schemes  for  aggrandizing  his 
son  by  securing  to  him  the  succession  to  the  empire. 

Philip  had  now  accomplished  the  great  object  of  his 
visit.  He  had  presented  himself  to  the  people  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  had  received  their  homage  as  heir 
to  the  realm.  His  tour  had  been  in  some  respects  a 
profitable  one.  It  was  scarcely  possible  that  a  young 
man  whose  days  had  hitherto  been  passed  within  the 
narrow  limits  of  his  own  country,  forever  under  the 
same  local  influences,  should  not  have  his  ideas  greatly 
enlarged  by  going  abroad  and  mingling  with  different 
nations.  It  was  especially  important  to  Philip  to  make 
himself  familiar,  as  none  but  a  resident  can  be,  with 
the  character  and  institutions  of  those  nations  over 
whom  he  was  one  day  to  preside.  Yet  his  visit  to  the 
Netherlands  had  not  been  attended  with  the  happiest 
results.  He  evidently  did  not  make  a  favorable  im 
pression  on  the  people.  The  more  they  saw  of  him 
the  less  they  appeared  to  like  him.  Such  impressions 
are  usually  reciprocal ;  and  Philip  seems  to  have 
parted  from  the  country  with  little  regret.  Thus,  in 

31  A  copy  of  the  instrument  containing  this  agreement,  dated  March 
9th,  1551,  is  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Belgium.  See  Mignet, 
Charles-Quint,  p.  42,  note. 


64  EARL  Y  DA  YS   OF  PHILIP. 

the  first  interview  between  the  future  sovereign  and  his 
subjects  the  symptoms  might  already  be  discerned  of 
that  alienation  which  was  afterwards  to  widen  into  a 
permanent  and  irreparable  breach. 

Philip,  anxious  to  reach  Castile,  pushed  forward  his 
journey,  without  halting  to  receive  the  civilities  that 
were  everywhere  tendered  to  him  on  his  route.  He 
made  one  exception,  at  Trent,  where  the  ecclesiastical 
council  was  holding  the  memorable  session  that  occu 
pies  so  large  a  share  in  Church  annals.  On  his  ap 
proach  to  the  city,  the  cardinal  legate,  attended  by 
the  mitred  prelates  and  other  dignitaries  of  the  coun 
cil,  came  out  in  a  body  to  receive  him.  During  his 
stay  there  he  was  entertained  with  masks,  dancing, 
theatrical  exhibitions,  and  jousts,  contrived  to  repre 
sent  scenes  in  Ariosto.32  These  diversions  of  the 
reverend  fathers  formed  a  whimsical  contrast,  perhaps 
a  welcome  relief,  to  their  solemn  occupation  of  digest 
ing  a  creed  for  the  Christian  world. 

From  Trent  Philip  pursued  his  way,  with  all  expe 
dition,  to  Genoa,  where  he  embarked,  under  the  flag 
of  the  veteran  Doria,  who  had  brought  him  from 
Spain.  He  landed  at  Barcelona  on  the  twelfth  day 
of  July,  1551,  and  proceeded  at  once  to  Valladolid, 
where  he  resumed  the  government  of  the  kingdom. 
He  was  fortified  by  a  letter  from  his  father,  dated  at 
Augsburg,  which  contained  ample  instructions  as  to 
the  policy  he  was  to  pursue,  and  freely  discussed  both 
the  foreign  and  domestic  relations  of  the  country. 

32  Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  199. — Memorial  et  Recueil  des 
Voyages  du  Roi  des  Espagnes,  escript  par  le  Controleur  de  Sa 
Majeste,  MS. 


CONDITION  OF  SPAIN.  65 

The  letter,  which  is  very  long,  shows  that  the  capa 
cious  mind  of  Charles,  however  little  time  he  could 
personally  give  to  the  affairs  of  the  monarchy,  fully 
comprehended  its  internal  condition  and  the  extent 
of  its  resources.33 

The  following  years  were  years  of  humiliation  to 
Charles;  years  marked  by  the  flight  from  Innsbruck, 
and  the  disastrous  siege  of  Metz, — when,  beaten  by  the 
Protestants,  foiled  by  the  French,  the  reverses  of  the 
emperor  pressed  heavily  on  his  proud  heart,  and  did 
more,  probably,  than  all  the  homilies  of  his  ghostly 
teachers  to  disgust  him  with  the  world  and  its  vanities. 

Yet  these  reverses  made  little  impression  on  Spain. 
The  sounds  of  war  died  away  before  they  reached  the 
foot  of  the  Pyrenees.  Spain,  it  is  true,  sent  forth  her 
sons,  from  time  to  time,  to  serve  under  the  banners  of 
Charles ;  and  it  was  in  that  school  that  was  perfected 
the  admirable  system  of  discipline  and  tactics  which, 
begun  by  the  Great  Captain,  made  the  Spanish  infantry 
the  most  redoubtable  in  Europe.  But  the  great  body 
of  the  people  felt  little  interest  in  the  success  of  these 
distant  enterprises,  where  success  brought  them  no 
good.  Not  that  the  mind  of  Spain  was  inactive,  or 
oppressed  with  the  lethargy  which  stole  over  it  in  a 
later  age.  There  was,  on  the  contrary,  great  intel 
lectual  activity.  She  was  excluded  by  an  arbitrary 
government  from  pushing  her  speculations  in  the  re 
gions  of  theological  or  political  science.  But  this,  to 

33  The  letter,  of  which  I  have  a  manuscript  copy,  taken  from  one 
in  the  rich  collection  of  Sir  Thomas  Phillips,  is  published  at  length  by 
Sandoval,  in  his  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  where  it  occupies  twelve  pages 
folio.  Tom.  ii.  p.  475  et  seq. 

6* 


66  EARLY  DAYS   OF  PHILIP. 

a  considerable  extent,  was  the  case  with  most  of  the 
neighboring  nations ;  and  she  indemnified  herself  for 
this  exclusion  by  a  more  diligent  cultivation  of  elegant 
literature.  The  constellation  of  genius  had  already 
begun  to  show  itself  above  the  horizon,  which  was  to 
shed  a  glory  over  the  meridian  and  the  close  of  Philip's 
reign.  The  courtly  poets  in  the  reign  of  his  father 
had  confessed  the  influence  of  Italian  models,  derived 
through  the  recent  territorial  acquisitions  in  Italy.  But 
the  national  taste  was  again  asserting  its  supremacy ; 
and  the  fashionable  tone  of  composition  was  becoming 
more  and  more  accommodated  to  the  old  Castilian 
standard. 

It  would  be  impossible  that  any  departure  from  a 
national  standard  should  be  long  tolerated  in  Spain, 
where  the  language,  the  manners,  the  dress,  the  usages 
of  the  country  were  much  the  same  as  they  had  been 
for  generations, — as  they  continued  to  be  for  genera 
tions,  long  after  Cervantes  held  up  the  mirror  of  fiction 
to  reflect  the  traits  of  the  national  existence  more 
vividly  than  is  permitted  to  the  page  of  the  chronicler. 
In  the  rude  romances  of  the  fourteenth  and  the  fifteenth 
century  the  Castilian  of  the  sixteenth  might  see  his  way 
of  life  depicted  with  tolerable  accuracy.  The  amorous 
cavalier  still  thrummed  his  guitar  by  moonlight  under 
the  balcony  of  his  mistress,  or  wore  her  favors  at  the 
Moorish  tilt  of  reeds.  The  common  people  still  sung 
their  lively  seguidiUas,  or  crowded  to  the  fiestas  de 
toros,  —  the  cruel  bull-fights,  —  or  to  the  more  cruel 
autos  de  fe.  This  last  spectacle,  of  comparatively 
recent  origin, — in  the  time  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
—  was  the  legitimate  consequence  of  the  long  wars 


CONDITION  OF  SPAIN.  67 

with  the  Moslems,  which  made  the  Spaniard  intolerant 
of  religious  infidelity.  Atrocious  as  it  seems  in  a  more 
humane  and  enlightened  age,  it  was  regarded  by  the 
ancient  Spaniard  as  a  sacrifice  grateful  to  Heaven,  at 
which  he  was  to  rekindle  the  dormant  embers  of  his 
own  religious  sensibilities. 

The  cessation  of  the  long  Moorish  wars,  by  the  fall 
of  Granada,  made  the  most  important  change  in  the 
condition  of  the  Spaniards.  They,  however,  found  a 
vent  for  their  chivalrous  fanaticism  in  a  crusade  against 
the  heathen  of  the  New  World.  Those  who  returned 
from  their  wanderings  brought  back  to  Spain  little  of 
foreign  usages  and  manners;  for  the  Spaniard  was  the 
only  civilized  man  whom  they  found  in  the  wilds  of 
America. 

Thus  passed  the  domestic  life  of  the  Spaniard,  in  the 
same  unvaried  circle  of  habits,  opinions,  and  prejudices, 
to  the  exclusion,  and  probably  contempt,  of  every  thing 
foreign.  Not  that  these  habits  did  not  differ  in  the 
different  provinces,  where  their  distinctive  peculiarities 
were  handed  down,  with  traditional  precision,  from 
father  to  son.  But  beneath  these  there  was  one  com 
mon  basis  of  the  national  character.  Never  was  there 
a  people,  probably,  with  the  exception  of  the  Jews, 
distinguished  by  so  intense  a  nationality.  It  was 
among  such  a  people,  and  under  such  influences,  that 
Philip  was  born  and  educated.  His  temperament  and 
his  constitution  of  mind  peculiarly  fitted  him  for  the 
reception  of  these  influences;  and  the  Spaniards,  as  he 
grew  in  years,  beheld,  with  pride  and  satisfaction,  in 
their  future  sovereign,  the  most  perfect  type  of  the 
national  character. 


CHAPTER    III. 

ENGLISH    ALLIANCE. 

Condition  of  England. — Character  of  Mary  Tudor. — Philip's  Proposals 
of  Marriage. — Marriage-Articles. — Insurrection    in      England. 

1553,  1554- 

IN  the  summer  of  1553,  three  years  after  Philip's 
return  to  Spain,  occurred  an  event  which  was  to  exer 
cise  a  considerable  influence  on  his  fortunes.  This  was 
the  death  of  Edward  the  Sixth  of  England, — after  a 
brief  but  important  reign.  He  was  succeeded  by  his 
sister  Mary,  that  unfortunate  princess,  whose  sobriquet 
of  "Bloody"  gives  her  a  melancholy  distinction  among 
the  sovereigns  of  the  house  of  Tudor. 

The  reign  of  her  father,  Henry  the  Eighth,  had 
opened  the  way  to  the  great  revolution  in  religion,  the 
effects  of  which  were  destined  to  be  permanent.  Yet 
Henry  himself  showed  his  strength  rather  in  unsettling 
ancient  institutions  than  in  establishing  new  ones.  By 
the  abolition  of  the  monasteries  he  broke  up  that 
spiritual  militia  which  was  a  most  efficacious  instru 
ment  for  maintaining  the  authority  of  Rome ;  and  he 
completed  the  work  of  independence  by  seating  him 
self  boldly  in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter  and  assuming 
the  authority  of  head  of  the  Church.  Thus,  while 
the  supremacy  of  the  pope  was  rejected,  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  was  maintained  in  its  essential  princi- 
(68) 


CONDITION  OF  ENGLAND.  69 

pies  unimpaired.  In  other  words,  the  nation  remained 
Catholics,  but  not  Papists. 

The  impulse  thus  given  under  Henry  was  followed 
up  to  more  important  consequences  under  his  son, 
Edward  the  Sixth.  The  opinions  of  the  German 
Reformers,  considerably  modified,  especially  in  regard 
to  the  exterior  forms  and  discipline  of  worship,  met 
with  a  cordial  welcome  from  the  ministers  of  the  young 
monarch.  Protestantism  became  the  religion  of  the 
land ;  and  the  Church  of  England  received,  to  a  great 
extent,  the  peculiar  organization  which  it  has  preserved 
to  the  present  day.  But  Edward's  reign  was  too  brief 
to  allow  the  new  opinions  to  take  deep  root  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  The  greater  part  of  the  aris 
tocracy  soon  showed  that,  whatever  religious  zeal  they 
had  affected,  they  were  not  prepared  to  make  any 
sacrifice  of  their  temporal  interests.  On  the  accession 
of  a  Catholic  queen  to  the  throne,  a  reaction  soon 
became  visible.  Some  embarrassment  to  a  return  to 
the  former  faith  was  found  in  the  restitution  which  it 
might  naturally  involve  of  the  confiscated  property  of 
the  monastic  orders.  But  the  politic  concessions  of 
Rome  dispensed  with  this  severe  trial  of  the  sincerity 
of  its  new  proselytes;  and  England,  after  repudiating 
her  heresies,  was  received  into  the  fold  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  and  placed  once  more  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  its  pontiff. 

After  the  specimens  given  of  the  ready  ductility  with 
which  the  English  of  that  day  accommodated  their 
religious  creeds  to  the  creed  of  their  sovereign,  we 
shall  hardly  wonder  at  the  caustic  criticism  of  the 
Venetian  ambassador  resident  at  the  court  of  London 


7o  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

in  Queen  Mary's  time.  "The  example  and  authority 
of  the  sovereign,"  he  says,  "are  every  thing  with  the 
people  of  this  country,  in  matters  of  faith.  As  he 
believes,  they  believe ;  Judaism  or  Mahometanism, — 
it  is  all  one  to  them.  They  conform  themselves  easily 
to  his  will,  at  least  so  far  as  the  outward  show  is  con 
cerned  ;  and  most  easily  of  all  where  it  concurs  with 
their  own  pleasure  and  profit."1 

The  ambassador,  Giovanni  Micheli,  was  one  of  that 
order  of  merchant-princes  employed  by  Venice  in 
her  foreign  missions, — men  whose  acquaintance  with 
affairs  enabled  them  to  comprehend  the  resources  of 
the  country  to  which  they  were  sent,  as  well  as  the 
intrigues  of  its  court.  Their  observations  were  di 
gested  into  elaborate  reports,  which  on  their  return  to 
Venice  were  publicly  read  before  the  doge  and  the 
senate.  The  documents  thus  prepared  form  some 
of  the  most  valuable  and  authentic  materials  for  the 
history  of  Europe  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Mi- 
cheli's  report  is  diffuse  on  the  condition  of  England 
under  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary ;  and  some  of  his 
remarks  will  have  interest  for  the  reader  of  the  pres- 

1  "  Quanto  alia  religione,  sia  certa  V'ra  Senta  che  ogni  cosa  pu6  in 
loro  1'  essempio  et  1'  autorita  del  Principe,  che  in  tanto  gl'  Inglesi 
stimano  la  religione,  et  si  muovono  per  essa,  in  quanto  sodisfanno  all' 
obligo  de'  sudditi  verso  il  Principe,  vivendo  com'  ei  vive,  credendo 
cioche  ei  crede,  et  finalmente  facendo  tutto  quel  che  comanda  conser- 
virsene,  piu  per  mostra  esteriore,  per  non  incorrere  in  sua  disgratia, 
che  por  zelo  interiore ;  perche  il  medesimo  faciano  della  Maumettana 
o  della  Giudea,  pur  che  '1  Re  mostrasse  di  credere,  et  volesse  cosi ;  et 
s*  accommodariano  a  tutte,  ma  a  quella  piu  facilmente  dalla  quale 
sperassero  o  ver'  maggior  licentia  et  liberta  di  vivere,  o  vero  qualche 
utile."  Relatione  del  Clarissimo  M.  Giovanni  Micheli,  ritornato  Am- 
basciatore  alia  Regina  d'  Inghilterra  1'  anno  1557,  MS. 


CONDITION  OF  ENGLAND.  71 

ent  day,  as  affording  a  standard  of  comparison  with 
the  past.2 

London  he  eulogizes  as  one  of  the  noblest  capitals 
in  Europe,  containing,  with  its  suburbs,  about  a  hun 
dred  and  eighty  thousand  souls.3  The  great  lords,  as 
in  France  and  Germany,  passed  most  of  their  time  on 
their  estates  in  the  country. 

The  kingdom  was  strong  enough,  if  united,  to  defy 
any  invasion  from  abroad.  Yet  its  navy  was  small, 
having  dwindled,  from  neglect  and  an  ill-judged  econ 
omy,  to  not  more  than  forty  vessels  of  war.  But  the 
mercantile  marine  could  furnish  two  thousand  more, 
which  at  a  short  notice  could  be  well  equipped  and  got 
ready  for  sea.  The  army  was  particularly  strong  in 
artillery,  and  provided  with  all  the  munitions  of  war. 
The  weapon  chiefly  in  repute  was  the  bow,  to  which 
the  English  people  were  trained  from  early  youth.  In 
their  cavalry  they  were  most  defective.  Horses  were 
abundant,  but  wanted  bottom.  They  were  for  the 
most  part  light,  weak,  and  grass-fed.4  The  nation 

2  Soriano  notices  the  courteous  bearing  and  address  of  his  country 
man  Micheli,  as  rendering  him  universally  popular  at  the  courts  where 
he  resided:   "  II  Michiel  e  gratissimo  a  tutti  fino  al  minore,  per  la 
domestichezza  che  havea  con  i  grandi,  et  per  la  dolcezza  et  cortesia  che 
usava  con  gl"  altri,  et  per  il  giudicio  che  mostrava  con  tutti."     Rela- 
tione  di  Michele  Soriano,  MS. — Copies  of  Micheli's  interesting  Rela 
tion  are  to  be  found  in  different  public  libraries  of  Europe ;  among 
others,  in  the  collection  of  the  Cottonian  MSS.,  and  of  the   Lans- 
downe  MSS.,  in  the  British  Museum  ;  and  in  the  Barberini  Library, 
at  Rome.     The  copy  in  my  possession  is  from  the  ducal  library  at 
Gotha.     Sir  Henry  Ellis,  in  the  Second  Series  of  his  "  Original  Let 
ters,"  has  given  an  abstract  of  the  Cottonian  MS. 

3  This  agrees  with  the  Lansdowne  MS.     The  Cottonian,  as  given 
by  Sir  Henry  Ellis,  puts  the  population  at  150,000. 

4  "  Essendo  cavalli  deboli,  et  di  poca  lena,  nutriti  solo  d'  erba,  vi- 


72  .  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

was,  above  all,  to  be  envied  for  the  lightness  of  the 
public  burdens.  There  were  no  taxes  on  wine,  beer, 
salt,  cloth,  nor,  indeed,  on  any  of  the  articles  that  in 
other  countries  furnished  the  greatest  sources  of  reve 
nue.5  The  whole  revenue  did  not  usually  exceed  two 
hundred  thousand  pounds.  Parliaments  were  rarely 
summoned,  except  to  save  the  king  trouble  or  to  afford 
a  cloak  to  his  designs.  No  one  ventured  to  resist  the 
royal  will :  servile  the  members  came  there,  and  servile 
they  remained.6  An  Englishman  of  the  nineteenth 
century  may  smile  at  the  contrast  presented  by  some 
of  these  remarks  to  the  condition  of  the  nation  at  the 
present  day ;  though  in  the  item  of  taxation  the  con 
trast  may  be  rather  fitted  to  provoke  a  sigh. 

The  portrait  of  Queen  Mary  is  given  by  the  Venetian 
minister  with  a  coloring  somewhat  different  from  that 
in  which  she  is  commonly  depicted  by  English  his 
torians.  She  was  about  thirty-six  years  of  age  at  the 
time  of  her  accession.  In  stature  she  was  of  rather 
less  than  the  middle  size, — not  large,  as  was  the  case 
with  both  her  father  and  mother, — and  exceedingly 
well  made.  "The  portraits  of  her,"  says  Micheli, 

vendo  como  la  pecore,  et  tutti  gli  altri  animali,  per  la  temperie  dell' 
aere  da  tutti  i  tempi  ne  i  pascoli  a  la  campagna,  non  possono  far" 
gran'  pruove,  ne  sono  tenuti  in  stima."  Relatione  di  Gio.  Micheli, 
MS. 

5  "  Non  solo  non  sono  in  essere,  ma  non  pur  si  considerano  gravezze 
di  sorte  alcuna,  non  di  sale,  non  di  vino  o  de  bira,  non  di  macina,  non 
di  came,  non  di  far  pane,  et  cose  simili  necessarie  al  vivere,  che  in 
tutti  gli  altri  luoghi  d'  Italia  specialmente,  et  in  Fiandra,  sono  di  tanto 
maggior  utile,  quanto  e  piu  grande  il  numero  dei  sudditi  che  le  con- 
sumano."     Ibid.,  MS. 

6  "  Si  come  servi  et  sudditi  son  quelli  che  v"  intervengono,  cosi  servi 
et  sudditi  son  1'  attione  che  si  trattano  in  essi."     Ibid.,  MS. 


CHARACTER    OF  MARY.  73 

"  show  that  in  her  youth  she  must  have  been  not  only 
good-looking,  but  even  handsome;"  though  her  coun 
tenance,  when  he  saw  her,  exhibited  traces  of  early 
trouble  and  disease.7  But  whatever  she  had  lost  in 
personal  attractions  was  fully  made  up  by  those  of  the 
mind.  She  was  quick  of  apprehension,  and,  like  her 
younger  sister,  Elizabeth,  was  mistress  of  several  lan 
guages,  three  of  which,  the  French,  Spanish,  and 
Latin,  she  could  speak, — the  last  with  fluency.8  But 
in  these  accomplishments  she  was  surpassed  by  her 
sister,  who  knew  the  Greek  well,  and  could  speak 
Italian  with  ease  and  elegance.  Mary,  however,  both 
spoke  and  wrote  her  own  language  in  a  plain,  straight 
forward  manner,  that  forms  a  contrast  to  the  ambiguous 
phrase  and  cold  conceits  in  which  Elizabeth  usually 
conveyed,  or  rather  concealed,  her  sentiments. 

Mary  had  the  misfortune  to  labor  under  a  chronic 
infirmity  which   confined    her   f  jr  weeks,  and   indeed 

7  "  &  donna  di  statura  piccola,  piu.  presta  che  mediocre ;  e  di  per 
sona  magra  et  delicata,  dissimile  in  tutto  al  padre,  che  fu  grande  et 
grosso ;  et  alia  madre,  che  se  non  era  grande  era  per6  massiccia ;  et 
ben  formata  di  faccia,  per  quel  che  mostrano  le  fattezze  et  li  lineamenti 
che  si  veggono  da  i  ritratti,  quando  era  piu  giovane,  non  pur"  tenuta 
honesta,  ma  piu  che  mediocremente  bella ;  al  presente  se  li  scoprono 
qualche  crespe,  causate  piu  da  gli  affanni  che  dall'  eta,  che  la  mo 
strano  attempata  di  qualche  anni  di  piu."     Relatione  di  Gio.  Micheli, 
MS. 

8  "  Quanto  se  li  potesse  levare  delle  bellezze  del  corpo,  tanto  con 
verita,  et  senza  adulatione,  se  li  puo  aggiunger'  di  quelle  del  animo, 
perche  oltra  la  felicita  et  accortezza  del  ingegno,  atto  in  capir  tutto 
quel  che  possa  ciascun  altro,  dico  fuor  del  sesso  suo,  quel  che  in  una 
donna  parera  maraviglioso,  e  instrutta  di  cinque  lingue,  le  quali  non 
solo  intende,  ma  quattro  ne  parla  speditamente ;  questi  sono  oltre  la 
sua  materna  et  naturale  inglese,  la  franzese,  la  spagnola,  et  1'  italiana." 
Ibid.,  MS. 

Philip.— VOL.  I.— D  7 


74 


ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 


months,  of  every  year  to  her  chamber,  and  which, 
with  her  domestic  troubles,  gave  her  an  air  of  melan 
choly  that  in  later  years  settled  into  a  repulsive 
austerity.  The  tones  of  her  voice  were  masculine, 
says  the  Venetian,  and  her  eyes  inspired  a  feeling  not 
merely  of  reverence,  but  of  fear,  wherever  she  turned 
them.  Her  spirit,  he  adds,  was  lofty  and  magnani 
mous,  never  discomposed  by  danger,  showing  in  all 
things  a  blood  truly  royal.9 

Her  piety,  he  continues,  and  her  patience  under 
affliction,  cannot  be  too  greatly  admired.  Sustained 
as  she  was  by  a  lively  faith  and  conscious  innocence, 
he  compares  her  to  a  light  which  the  fierce  winds 
have  no  power  to  extinguish,  but  which  still  shines  on 
with  increasing  lustre.10  She  waited  her  time,  and  was 
plainly  reserved  by  Providence  for  a  great  destiny. 
We  are  reading  the  language  of  the  loyal  Catholic, 
grateful  for  the  services  which  Mary  had  rendered  to 
the  faith. 

Yet  it  would    be  uncharitable   notsto   believe  that 

9  "  fe  in  tutto  coragiosa,  et  cosi  resoluta,  che  per  nessuna  adversita, 
ne  per  nessun  pericolo  nel  qual  si  sia  ritrovata,  non  ha  mai  pur  mo- 
strato,  non  che  commesso  atto  alcuno  di  vilta  ne  di  pusillanimita;  ha 
sempre  tenuta  una  grandezza  et  dignita  mirabile,  cosi  ben  conoscendo 
quel  che  si  convenga  al  decoro  del  Re,  come  il  piu  consummate  con- 
sigliero  che  ella  habbia ;  in  tanto  che  dal  procedere,  et  dalle  maniere 
che  ha  tenuto,  et  tiene  tuttavia,  non  si  pud  negare,  che  non  mostri  d* 
esser  nata  di  sangue  veramente  real."    Relatione  di  Gio.  Micheli,  MS. 

10  "  Delia  qual  humilita,  pieta,  et  religion  sua,  non  occorre  ragionare, 
ne  renderne  testimonio,  perche  son  da  tutti  non  solo  conosciute,  ma 
sommamente  predicate  con  le  prove.  .  .  .  Fosse  come  un  debol  lume 
combattuto  da  gran  venti  per  estinguerlo  del  tutto,  ma  sempre  tenuto 
vivo,  et  difeso  della  sua  innocentia  et  viva  fede,  accioche  havesse  a 
risplender  nel  modo  che  hora  fa."     Ibid.,  MS. 


CHARACTER    OF  MARY.  75 

Mary  was  devout,  and  most  earnest  in  her  devotion. 
The  daughter  of  Katharine  of  Aragon,  the  grand 
daughter  of  Isabella  of  Castile,  could  hardly  have 
been  otherwise.  The  women  of  that  royal  line  were 
uniformly  conspicuous  for  their  piety,  though  this  was 
too  often  tinctured  with  bigotry.  In  Mary,  bigotry 
degenerated  into  fanaticism,  and  fanaticism  into  the 
spirit  of  persecution.  The  worst  evils  are  probably 
those  that  have  flowed  from  fanaticism.  Yet  the 
amount  of  the  mischief  does  not  necessarily  furnish 
us  with  the  measure  of  guilt  in  the  author  of  it.  The 
introduction  of  the  Inquisition  into  Spain  must  be 
mainly  charged  on  Isabella.  Yet  the  student  of  her 
reign  will  not  refuse  to  this  great  queen  the  praise 
of  tenderness  of  conscience  and  a  sincere  desire  to  do 
the  right.  Unhappily,  the  faith  in  which  she,  as  well 
as  her  royal  granddaughter,  was  nurtured,  taught  her 
to  place  her  conscience  in  the  keeping  of  ministers 
less  scrupulous  than  herself;  and  on  those  ministers 
may  fairly  rest  much  of  the  responsibility  of  measures 
on  which  they  only  were  deemed  competent  to  de 
termine. 

Mary's  sincerity  in  her  religious  professions  was 
p'aced  beyond  a  doubt  by  the  readiness  with  which 
she  submitted  to  the  sacrifice  of  her  personal  interests 
whenever  the  interests  of  religion  seemed  to  demand 
it.  She  burned  her  translation  of  a  portion  of  Eras 
mus,  prepared  with  great  labor,  at  the  suggestion  of 
her  confessor.  An  author  will  readily  estimate  the 
value  of  such  a  sacrifice.  One  more  important,  and 
intelligible  to  all,  was  the  resolute  manner  in  which 
she  persisted  in  restoring  the  Church  property  which 


7  6  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

had  been  confiscated  to  the  use  of  the  crown.  "The 
crown  is  too  much  impoverished  to  admit  of  it," 
remonstrated  her  ministers.  "I  would  rather  lose  ten 
crowns,"  replied  the  high-minded  queen,  "than  place 
my  soul  in  peril."11 

Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  Mary  had  inherited  in 
full  measure  some  of  the  sterner  qualities  of  her  father, 
and  that  she  was  wanting  in  that  sympathy  for  human 
suffering  which  is  so  graceful  in  a  woman.  After  a 
rebellion,  the  reprisals  were  terrible.  London  was 
converted  into  a  charnel-house ;  and  the  squares  and 
principal  streets  were  garnished  with  the  unsightly 
trophies  of  the  heads  and  limbs  of  numerous  victims 
who  had  fallen  by  the  hand  of  the  executioner.12 
This  was  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  age. 
But  the  execution  of  the  unfortunate  Lady  Jane  Grey 
— the  young,  the  beautiful,  and  the  good — leaves  a 
blot  on  the  fame  of  Mary  which  finds  no  parallel  but 
in  the  treatment  of  the  ill-fated  queen  of  Scots  by 
Elizabeth. 

Mary's  treatment  of  Elizabeth  has  formed  another 
subject  of  reproach,  though  the  grounds  of  it  are  not 
sufficiently  made  out;  and,  at  all  events,  many  circum 
stances  may  be  alleged  in  extenuation  of  her  conduct. 
She  had  seen  her  mother,  the  noble-minded  Katharine, 
exposed  to  the  most  cruel  indignities  and  compelled  to 
surrender  her  bed  and  her  throne  to  an  artful  rival,  the 
mother  of  Elizabeth.  She  had  heard  herself  declared 
illegitimate,  and  her  right  to  the  succession  set  aside 

11  Burnet,  History  of  the  Reformation  (Oxford,  1816),  vol.  ii.  part  ii. 
P-  557- 

13  Strype.  Memorials  (London,  1721),  vol.  iii.  p.  93. 


CHARACTER    OF  MARY.  77 

in  favor  of  her  younger  sister.  Even  after  her  intrepid 
conduct  had  secured  to  her  the  crown,  she  was  still 
haunted  by  the  same  gloomy  apparition.  Elizabeth's 
pretensions  were  constantly  brought  before  the  public; 
and  Mary  might  well  be  alarmed  by  the  disclosure  of 
conspiracy  after  conspiracy,  the  object  of  which,  it 
was  rumored,  was  to  seat  her  sister  on  the  throne.  As 
she  advanced  in  years,  Mary  had  the  further  mortifi 
cation  of  seeing  her  rival  gain  on  those  affections  of 
the  people  which  had  grown  cool  to  her.  Was  it  won 
derful  that  she  should  regard  her  sister,  under  these 
circumstances,  with  feelings  of  distrust  and  aversion  ? 
That  she  did  so  regard  her  is  asserted  by  the  Venetian 
minister ;  and  it  is  plain  that  during  the  first  years  of 
Mary's  reign  Elizabeth's  life  hung  upon  a  thread.  Yet 
Mary  had  strength  of  principle  sufficient  to  resist  the 
importunities  of  Charles  the  Fifth  and  his  ambassador 
to  take  the  life  of  Elizabeth,  as  a  thing  indispensable 
to  her  own  safety  and  that  of  Philip.  Although  her 
sister  was  shown  to  be  privy,  though  not  openly  acces 
sory,  to  the  rebellion  under  Wyatt,  Mary  would  not 
constrain  the  law  from  its  course  to  do  her  violence. 
This  was  something,  under  the  existing  circumstances, 
in  an  age  so  unscrupulous.  After  this  storm  had  passed 
over,  Mary,  whatever  restraint  she  imposed  on  her  real 
feelings,  treated  Elizabeth,  for  the  most  part,  with  a 
show  of  kindness,  though  her  name  still  continued  to 
be  mingled,  whether  with  or  without  cause,  with  more 
than  one  treasonable  plot.13  Mary's  last  act — perhaps 

*3  "  Non  si  scopri  mai  congiura  alcuna,  nella  quale,  o  giusta  o  in- 
giustamente,  ella  non  sia  nominata.  .  .  .  Ma  la  Regina  sforza  quando 
sono  insieme  di  riceverla  in  publico  con  ogni  sorte  d'  humanita  et  d' 
7* 


78  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

the  only  one  in  which  she  openly  resisted  the  will  of 
her  husband — was  to  refuse  to  compel  her  sister  to 
accept  the  hand  of  Philibert  of  Savoy.  Yet  this  act 
would  have  relieved  her  of  the  presence  of  her  rival ; 
and  by  it  Elizabeth  would  have  forfeited  her  inde 
pendent  possession  of  the  crown, — perhaps  the  posses 
sion  of  it  altogether.  It  may  be  doubted  whether 
Elizabeth,  under  similar  circumstances,  would  have 
shown  the  like  tenderness  to  the  interests  of  her 
successor. 

'But,  however  we  may  be  disposed  to  extenuate  the 
conduct  of  Mary,  and  in  spiritual  matters,  more  es 
pecially,  to  transfer  the  responsibility  of  her  acts  from 
herself  to  her  advisers,  it  is  not  possible  to  dwell  on 
this  reign  of  religious  persecution  without  feelings  of 
profound  sadness.  Not  that  the  number  of  victims 
compares  with  what  is  recorded  of  many  similar  periods 
of  persecution.  The  whole  amount,  falling  probably 
short  of  three  hundred  who  perished  at  the  stake,  was 
less  than  the  number  who  fell  by  the  hand  of  the  exe 
cutioner,  or  by  violence,  during  the  same  length  of 
time  under  Henry  the  Eighth.  It  was  not  much  greater 
than  might  be  sometimes  found  at  a  single  Spanish  auto 
de  fe.  But  Spain  was  the  land  in  which  this  might  be 
regarded  as  the  national  spectacle, — as  much  so  as  the 
fiesta  de  toros,  or  any  other  of  the  popular  exhibitions 
of  the  country.  In  England,  a  few  examples  had  not 
sufficed  to  steel  the  hearts  of  men  against  these  hor 
rors.  The  heroic  company  of  martyrs,  condemned  to 
the  most  agonizing  of  deaths  for  asserting  the  rights 

honore,  ne  mai  gli  parla,  se  non  di  cose  piacevole."  Relatione  di 
Gio.  Micheli,  MS. 


PHILIP'S  PROPOSALS   OF  MARRIAGE.        79 

of  conscience,  was  a  sight  strange  and  shocking  to 
Englishmen.  The  feelings  of  that  day  have  been 
perpetuated  to  the  present.  The  reign  of  religious 
persecution  stands  out  by  itself,  as  something  distinct 
from  the  natural  course  of  events;  and  the  fires  of 
Smithfield  shed  a  melancholy  radiance  over  this  page 
of  the  national  history,  from  which  the  eye  of  humanity 
turns  away  in  pity  and  disgust.  But  it  is  time  to  take 
up  the  narrative  of  events  which  connected  for  a  brief 
space  the  political  interests  of  Spain  with  those  of 
England. 

Charles  the  Fifth  had  always  taken  a  lively  interest 
in  the  fortunes  of  his  royal  kinswoman.  When  a  young 
man,  he  had  paid  a  visit  to  England,  and  while  there 
had  been  induced  by  his  aunt,  Queen  Katharine,  to 
contract  a  marriage  with  the  Princess  Mary, — then 
only  six  years  old, — to  be  solemnized  on  her  arriving 
at  the  suitable  age.  But  the  term  was  too  remote  for 
the  constancy  of  Charles,  or,  as  it  is  said,  for  the 
patience  of  his  subjects,  who  earnestly  wished  to  see 
their  sovereign  wedded  to  a  princess  who  might  present 
him  with  an  heir  to  the  monarchy.  The  English  match 
was,  accordingly,  broken  off,  and  the  young  emperor 
gave  his  hand  to  Isabella  of  Portugal.14 

Mary,  who,  since  her  betrothal,  had  been  taught  to 
consider  herself  as  the  future  bride  of  the  emperor, 
was  at  the  time  but  eleven  years  old.  She  was  old 

X4  Hall,  Chronicle  (London,  1809),  pp.  692,  711. — Sepulvedoe  Opera, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  46-48. — Sepulveda's  account  of  the  reign  of  Mary  becomes 
of  the  more  authority  from  the  fact  that  he  submitted  this  portion  of 
his  history  to  the  revision  of  Cardinal  Pole,  as  we  learn  from  one  of 
his  epistles  to  that  prelate.  Opera,  torn.  iii.  p.  309. 


80  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

enough,  however,  to  feel  something  like  jealousy,  it  is 
said,  and  to  show  some  pique  at  this  desertion  by  her 
imperial  lover.  Yet  this  circumstance  did  not  prevent 
the  most  friendly  relations  from  subsisting  between  the 
parties  in  after-years;  and  Charles  continued  to  watch 
over  the  interests  of  his  kinswoman,  and  interposed 
with  good  effect  in  her  behalf  on  more  than  one  occa 
sion,  both  during  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Eighth  and 
of  his  son,  Edward  the  Sixth.  On  the  death  of  the 
latter  monarch  he  declared  himself  ready  to  assist 
Mary  in  maintaining  her  right  to  the  succession;15 
and  when  this  was  finally  established  the  wary  emperor 
took  the  necessary  measures  for  turning  it  to  his  own 
account.16 

xs  Yet  the  emperor  seems  to  have  written  in  a  somewhat  different 
style  to  his  ambassador  at  the  English  court:  "  Desfaillant  la  force 
pour  donner  assistance  a  nostre-dicte  cousine  comme  aussy  vous  scave/ 
qu'elle  deffault  pour  1'empeschement  que  Ton  nous  donne  du  coustel 
de  France,  nous  ne  veons  aulcun  apparent  moyen  pour  assheurer  la 
personne  de  nostre-dicte  cousine."  L'Empereur  a  ses  Ambassadeurs 
en  Angleterre,  n  juillet,  1553,  Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  iv. 
p.  25. 

16  Charles,  in  a  letter  to  his  ambassador  in  London,  dated  July  22d, 
1553,  after  much  good  counsel  which  he  was  to  give  Queen  Mary,  in 
the  emperor's  name,  respecting  the  government  of  her  kingdom,  directs 
him  to  hint  to  her  that  the  time  had  come  when  it  would  be  well  for 
the  queen  to  provide  herself  with  a  husband,  and  if  his  advice  could 
be  of  any  use  in  the  affair,  she  was  entirely  welcome  to  it:  "  Et  aussy 
lui  direz-vous  qu'il  sera  besoin  que  pour  etre  soustenue  audit  royaulme, 
emparee  et  deffendue,  mesmes  en  choses  que  ne  sont  de  la  profession 
de  dames,  il  sera  tres-requis  que  tost  elle  prenne  party  de  mariaige 
avec  qui  il  luy  semblera  estre  plus  convenable,  tenant  regard  &  ce  que 
dessus ;  et  que  s'il  lui  plait  nous  faire  part  avant  que  s'y  determiner, 
nous  ne  fauldrons  de  avec  la  sincerite  de  1'affection  que  lui  portons, 
luy  faire  entendre  liberalement,  sur  ce  qu'elle  voudra  mettre  en  avant, 
nostre  advis,  et  de  1'ayder  et  favoriser  en  ce  qu'elle  se  detenninera." 


PHILIPS  PROPOSALS   OF  MARRIAGE.        8 1 

He  formed  a  scheme  for  uniting  Philip  with  Mary, 
and  thus  securing  to  his  son  the  possession  of  the 
English  crown,  in  the  same  manner  as  that  of  Scot 
land  had  been  secured  by  marriage  to  the  son  of  his 
rival,  Henry  the  Second  of  France.  It  was,  doubtless, 
a  great  error  to  attempt  to  bring  under  one  rule  nations 
so  dissimilar  in  every  particular  and  having  interests 
so  incompatible  as  the  Spaniards  and  the  English. 
Historians  have  regarded  it  as  passing  strange  that  a 
prince  who  had  had  such  large  experience  of  the  difficul 
ties  attending  the  government  of  kingdoms  remote  from 
each  other  should  seek  so  to  multiply  these  difficulties 
on  the  head  of  his  inexperienced  son.  But  the  love 
of  acquisition  is  a  universal  principle ;  nor  is  it  often 
found  that  the  appetite  for  more  is  abated  by  the  con 
sideration  that  the  party  is  already  possessed  of  more 
than  he  can  manage. 

It  was  a  common  opinion  that  Mary  intended  to 
bestow  her  hand  on  her  young  and  handsome  kinsman, 
Courtenay,  earl  of  Devonshire,  whom  she  had  with 
drawn  from  the  prison  in  which  he  had  languished  for 
many  years,  and  afterwards  treated  with  distinguished 
favor.  Charles,  aware  of  this,  instructed  Renard,  his 
minister  at  the  court  of  London,  a  crafty,  intriguing 
politician,17  to  sound  the  queen's  inclinations  on  the 
subject,  but  so  as  not  to  alarm  her.  He  was  to  dwell 
particularly  on  the  advantages  Mary  would  derive  from 

L'Empereur  ases  Ambassadeurs  en  Angleterre,  22  juillet,  1553,  Papiers 
d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  iv. 

X7  Granvelle,  who  owed  no  good  will  to  the  minister  for  the  part 
which  he  afterwards  took  in  the  troubles  of  Flanders,  frequently  puns 
on  Renard's  name,  which  he  seems  to  have  thought  altogether  signifi 
cant  of  his  character. 


82  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

a  connection  with  some  powerful  foreign  prince,  and  to 
offer  his  master's  counsel  in  this  or  any  other  matter 
in  which  she  might  desire  it.  The  minister  was  to 
approach  the  subject  of  the  earl  of  Devonshire  with  the 
greatest  caution  ;  remembering  that  if  the  queen  had  a 
fancy  for  her  cousin,  and  was  like  other  women,  she 
would  not  be  turned  from  it  by  any  thing  that  he  might 
say,  nor  would  she  readily  forgive  any  reflection  upon 
it.18  Charles  seems  to  have  been  as  well  read  in  the 
characters  of  women  as  of  men,  and,  as  a  natural  con 
sequence,  it  may  be  added,  had  formed  a  high  estimate 
of  the  capacity  of  the  sex.  In  proof  of  which,  he  not 
only  repeatedly  committed  the  government  of  his  states 
to  women,  but  intrusted  them  with  some  of  his  most 
delicate  political  negotiations. 

Mary,  if  she  had  ever  entertained  the  views  imputed 
to  her  in  respect  to  Courtenay,  must  have  soon  been 
convinced  that  his  frivolous  disposition  would  ill  suit 
the  seriousness  of  hers.  However  this  may  be,  she  was 
greatly  pleased  when  Renard  hinted  at  her  marriage, — 
**  laughing,"  says  the  envoy,  "not  once,  but  several 
times,  and  giving  me  a  significant  look,  which  showed 
that  the  idea  was  very  agreeable  to  her,  plainly  inti 
mating  at  the  same  time  that  she  had  no  desire  to 

18  "  Quant  a  Cortenay,  vous  pourriez  bien  dire,  pour  eviter  au  pro- 
poz  mencionne  en  voz  lettres,  que  Ton  en  parle,  pour  veoir  ce  qu'elle 
dira;  mais  gardez-vous  de  luy  tout  desfaire  et  mesmes  qu'elle  n'aye 
descouvert  plus  avant  son  intention ;  car  si  elle  y  avoit  fantasie,  elle 
ne  layroit  (si  elle  est  du  naturel  des  aultres  femmes)  de  passer  oultre, 
et  si  se  ressentiroit  a  jamais  de  ce  que  vous  luy  en  pourries  avoir  dit. 
Bien  luy  pourries-vous  toucher  des  commoditez  plus  grandes  que  pour- 
roit  recepvoir  de  mariaige  estrangier,  sans  trop  toucher  a  la  personne 
ou  elle  pourroit  avoir  affection."  L'fcveque  d'Arras  a  Renard,  14 
aout,  1553,  Papiers  d'fetat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  iv.  p.  77. 


PHILIP'S  PROPOSALS    OF  MARRIAGE.        83 

marry  an  Englishman."19  In  a  subsequent  conversa 
tion,  when  Renard  ventured  to  suggest  that  the  prince 
of  Spain  was  a  suitable  match,  Mary  broke  in  upon 
him,  saying  that  "she  had  never  felt  the  smart  of  what 
people  called  love,  nor  had  ever  so  much  as  thought  of 
being  married,  until  Providence  had  raised  her  to  the 
throne,  and  that,  if  she  now  consented  to  it,  it  would 
be  in  opposition  to  her  own  feelings,  from  a  regard  to 
the  public  good  ;"  but  she  begged  the  envoy  to  assure 
the  emperor  of  her  wish  to  obey  and  to  please  him  in 
every  thing,  as  she  would  her  own  father;  intimating, 
however,  that  she  could  not  broach  the  subject  of  her 
marriage  to  her  council :  the  question  could  only  be 
opened  by  a  communication  from  him.20 

Charles,  who  readily  saw  through  Mary's  coquetry, 
no  longer  hesitated  to  prefer  the  suit  of  Philip.  After 
commending  the  queen's  course  in  regard  to  Courtenay, 
he  presented  to  her  the  advantages  that  must  arise  from 
such  a  foreign  alliance  as  would  strengthen  her  on  the 

*9  "  Quant  je  luy  fiz  1'ouverture  de  mariaige,  elle  se  print  a  rire,  non 
une  foys  ains  plusieurs  foys,  me  regardant  d'un  oeil  significant  1'ouver 
ture  luy  estre  fort  aggreable,  me  donnant  assez  a  cognoistre  qu'elle 
ne  taichoit  ou  desiroit  mariaige  d'Angleterre."  Renard  a  1'Eveque 
d'Arras,  15  aout,  1553,  Papiers  d'etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  iv.  p.  78. 

20  "  Et,  sans  attendre  la  fin  de  ces  propoz,  ella  jura  que  jamais  elle 
n'avoit  senti  esguillon  de  ce  que  Ton  appelle  amor,  ny  entre  en  pense- 
ment  de  volupte,  et  qu'elle  n'avoit  jamais  pense  a  mariaige  sinon 
depuys  que  a  pleu  a  Dieu  la  promovoir  a  la  couronne,  et  que  celluy 
qu'elle  fera  sera  contre  sa  propre  affection,  pour  le  respect  de  la  chose 
publicque  ;  qu'elle  se  tient  toute  assuree  sa  majeste  aura  consideration 
a  ce  qu'elle  m'a  diet  et  qu'elle  desire  1'obeir  et  complaire  en  tout  et  par 
tout  comme  son  propre  pere ;  qu'elle  n'oseroit  entrer  en  propoz  de 
mariaige  avec  ceulx  de  son  conseil,  que  fault,  le  cas  advenant,  que 
vienne  de  la  meute  de  sa  majeste."  Renard  a  1'Eveque  d'Arras,  8 
septembre,  1553,  Ibid.,  p.  98. 


84  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

throne.  He  declared,  in  a  tone  of  gallantry  rather 
amusing,  that  if  it  were  not  for  his  age  and  increasing 
infirmities  he  should  not  hesitate  to  propose  himself  as 
her  suitor.21  The  next  best  thing  was  to  offer  her  the 
person  dearest  to  his  heart, — his  son,  the  prince  of 
Asturias.  He  concluded  by  deprecating  the  idea  that 
any  recommendation  of  his  should  interfere  in  the  least 
degree  with  the  exercise  of  her  better  judgment.22 
Renard  was  further  to  intimate  to  the  queen  the 

21  "  Vous  la  pourrez  asseurer  que,  si  nous  estions  en  eaige  et  disposi 
tion  telle  qu'il  conviendroit,  et  que  jugissions  que  de  ce  peut  redonder 
le  bien  de  ses  affaires,  nous  ne  vouldrions  choysir  aultre  party  en  ce 
monde  plus  tost  que  de  nous  alier  nous-mesmes  avec  elle,  et  seroit 
bien  celle  que  nous  pourroit  donner  austant  de  satisfaction."     L'Em- 
pereur  a  Renard,  20  septembre,  1553,  Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle, 
torn.  iv.  p.  112. 

22  Ibid.,  pp.  108-116. — Simon  Renard,  the  imperial  ambassador  at 
this  time  at  the  English  court,  was  a  native  of  Franche-Comte,  and 
held  the  office  of  mc&tre  aux  requetes  in  the  household  of  the  empe 
ror.     Renard,  though  a  man  of  a  factious  turn,  was  what  Granvelle's 
correspondent,  Morillon,  calls  ''  un  bonpolitique"  and  in  many  respects 
well  suited  to  the  mission  on  which  he  was  employed.     His  correspond 
ence  is  of  infinite  value,  as  showing  the  Spanish  moves  in  this  compli 
cated  game,  which  ended  in  the  marriage  of  Mary  with  the  heir  of 
the  Castilian  monarchy.     It  is  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Brussels. 
Copies  of  these  MSS.,  amounting  to  five  volumes  folio,  were  to  be 
found  in  the  collection  of  Cardinal  Granvelle  at  Besan9on.     A  part 
of  them  was  lent  to  Griffet  for  the  compilation  of  his  "  Nouveaux 
Eclaircissemens   sur  1'Histoire  de  Marie  Reine  d'Angleterre."     Un 
fortunately,  Griffet  omitted  to  restore  the  MSS. ;  and  an  hiatus  is  thus 
occasioned  in  the  series  of  the  Renard  correspondence  embraced  in 
the  Granvelle   Papers  now  in  process  of  publication  by  the  French 
government.     It  were  to  be  wished  that  this  hiatus  had  been  supplied 
from  the  originals,  in  the  archives  of  Brussels.     Mr.  Tytler  has  done 
good  service  by  giving  to  the  world  a  selection  from  the  latter  part  of 
Renard's  correspondence,  which  had  been  transcribed  by  order  of  the 
Record  Commission  from  the  MSS.  in  Brussels. 


PHILIP'S  PROPOSALS   OF  MARRIAGE.        85 

importance  of  secrecy  in  regard  to  this  negotiation. 
If  she  were  disinclined  to  the  proposed  match,  it  would 
be  obviously  of  no  advantage  to  give  it  publicity.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  as  the  emperor  had  little  doubt,  she 
looked  on  it  favorably,  but  desired  to  advise  with  her 
council  before  deciding,  Renard  was  to  dissuade  her 
from  the  latter  step  and  advise  her  to  confide  in  him.23 
The  wary  emperor  had  a  twofold  motive  for  these 
instructions.  There  was  a  negotiation  on  foot  at  this 
very  time  for  a  marriage  of  Philip  to  the  infanta  of 
Portugal,  and  Charles  wished  to  be  entirely  assured  of 
Mary's  acquiescence  before  giving  such  publicity  to  the 
affair  as  might  defeat  the  Portuguese  match,  which 
would  still  remain  for  Philip  should  he  not  succeed 
with  the  English  queen.24  In  case  Mary  proved  favor 
able  to  his  son's  suit,  Charles,  who  knew  the  abhorrence 
in  which  foreigners  were  held  by  the  English  beyond 
all  other  nations,25  wished  to  gain  time  before  commu 
nicating  with  Mary's  council.  With  some  delay,  he 

=3  "  Car  si,  quant  a  soy.il  luy  semble  estre  chose  que  ne  luy  convint 
ou  ne  fut  faisable,  il  ne  seroit  a  propoz,  comme  elle  1'entend  tres-bien, 
d'en  faire  declaration  a  qui  que  ce  soit ;  mais,  en  cas  aussi  qu'elle 
jugea  le  party  luy  estre  convenable  et  qu'elle  y  print  inclination,  si,  a 
'son  advis,  la  difficulte  tumba  sur  les  moyens,  et  que  en  iceulx  elle  ne 
se  peut  resoldre  sans  la  participation  d'aulcuns  de  son  conseil,  vous  la 
pourriez  en  ce  cas  requerir  qu'elle  voulsit  prendre  de  vous  confiance 
pbur  vous  declairer  a  qui  elle  en  vouldroit  tenir  propoz,  et  ce  qu'elle 
en  vouldroit  communicquer  et  par  quelz  moyens."  L'Empereur  a 
Renard,  20  septembre,  1553,  Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  iv. 
p.  114. 

24  The  Spanish  match  seems  to  have  been  as  distasteful  to  the  Portu 
guese  as  it  was  to  the  English,  and  probably  for  much  the  same  reasons. 
See  the  letter  of  Granvelle,  of  August  I4th,  1553,  Ibid.,  p.  77. 

25  "  Les  estrangiers,  qu'ilz  abhorrissent  plus  que  nulle  aultre  nation." 
L'Empereur  a  Renard,  20  septembre,  1553,  Ibid.,  p.  113. 

Philip. — VOL.  I.  8 


86  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

had  no  doubt  that  he  had  the  means  of  winning  over 
a  sufficient  number  of  that  body  to  support  Philip's 
pretensions.26 

These  communications  could  not  be  carried  on  so 
secretly  but  that  some  rumor  of  them  reached  the  ears 
of  Mary's  ministers,  and  of  Noailles,  the  French  am 
bassador  at  the  court  of  London.27  This  person  was  a 
busy  and  unscrupulous  politician,  who  saw  with  alarm 
the  prospect  of  Spain  strengthening  herself  by  this 
alliance  with  England,  and  determined,  accordingly, 
in  obedience  to  instructions  from  home,  to  use  every 
effort  to  defeat  it.  The  queen's  ministers,  with  the 
chancellor,  Gardiner,  bishop  of  Winchester,  at  their 
head,  felt  a  similar  repugnance  to  the  Spanish  match. 
The  name  of  the  Spaniards  had  become  terrible  from 

26  "  Et  si  la  difficulte  se  treuvoit  aux  conseiilers  pour  leur  interetz 
particulier,  comme  pltis  ilz  sont  interessez,  il  pourroit  estre  que  Ton 
auroit  meilleur  moyen  de  les  gaigner,  assheurant  ceulx  par  le  moyen 
desquelz  la  chose  se   pourroit  conduyre,  des  principaulx  offices  et 
charges  dudict  royaulme,  voyre  et  leur  offrant  appart  sommes  nota 
bles  de  deniers  ou  accroissance  de  rentes,  privileges  et  prerogatives." 
L'Empereur  a  Renard,  20  septembre,  1553,  Papiers  d'Etat  de  Gran- 
velle,  torn.  iv.  p,  113. 

27  In  order  to  carry  on  the  negotiation  with  greater  secrecy,  Renard's 
colleagues  at  the  English  court,  who  were  found  to  intermeddle  some 
what  unnecessarily  with  the  business,  were  recalled;  and  the  whole 
affair  was  intrusted  exclusively  to  that  envoy,  and  to  Granvelle,  the 
bishop  of  Arras,  who  communicated  to  him  the  views  of  the  emperor 
from    Brussels:    "  Et  s'est  resolu  tant  plus  1'empereur  mppeler  voz 
collegues,  afin  que   aulcung   d'iceulx   ne  vous   y   traversa   ou   bien 
empescha,  s'y  estans  montrez  peu  affectionnez,  et  pour  non  si  bien 
entendre  le  cours  de  ceste  negociation,  et  pour  aussi  que  vous  garderez 
mieulx  le  secret  qu'est  tant  requis  et  ne  se  pourroit  faire,  passant  ceste 
negociation  par  plusieurs  mains."     L'Eveque  d'Arras  a  Renard,  13 
septembre,  1553,  Ibid.,  p.  103. 


PHILIP'S   PROPOSALS    OF  MARRIAGE.        87 

the  remorseless  manner  in  which  their  wars  had  been 
conducted  during  the  present  reign,  especially  in  the 
New  World.  The  ambition  and  the  widely-extended 
dominions  of  Charles  the  Fifth  made  him  the  most 
formidable  sovereign  in  Europe.  The  English  looked 
with  apprehension  on  so  close  an  alliance  with  a  prince 
who  had  shown  too  little  regard  for  the  liberties  of  his 
own  land  to  make  it  probable  that  he  or  his  son  would 
respect  those  of  another.  Above  all,  they  dreaded  the 
fanaticism  of  the  Spaniards ;  and  the  gloomy  spectre 
of  the  Inquisition  moving  in  their  train  made  even  the 
good  Catholic  shudder  at  the  thought  of  the  miseries 
that  might  ensue  from  this  ill-omened  union. 

It  was  not  difficult  for  Noailles  and  the  chancellor  to 
communicate  their  own  distrust  to  the  members  of  the 
parliament,  then  in  session.  A  petition  to  the  queen 
was  voted  in  the  lower  house,  in  which  the  commons 
preferred  an  humble  request  that  she  would  marry  for 
the  good  of  the  realm,  but  besought  her,  at  the  same 
time,  not  to  go  abroad  for  her  husband,  but  to  select 
him  among  her  own  subjects.28 

Mary's  ministers  did  not  understand  her  character 
so  well  as  Charles  the  Fifth  did  when  he  cautioned 
his  agent  not  openly  to  thwart  her.  Opposition  only 
fixed  her  more  strongly  in  her  original  purpose.  In  a 
private  interview  with  Renard,  she  told  him  that  she 
was  apprised  of  Gardiner's  intrigues,  and  that  Noailles, 
too,  was  doing  the  impossible  to  prevent  her  union  with 

28  "  Pour  la  requerir  et  supplier  d'eslire  ung  seigneur  de  son  pays 
pour  estre  son  mary,  et  ne  vouloir  prendre  personnaige  en  rnariaige, 
ny  leur  donner  prince  qui  lour  puisse  commander  aultre  que  de  sa 
nation."  Ambassades  de  Noailies  (Leyde,  1763),  torn.  ii.  p.  234. 


88       .  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

Philip.  "But  I  will  be  a  match  for  them,"  she  added. 
Soon  after,  taking  the  ambassador,  at  midnight,  into 
her  oratory,  she  knelt  before  the  host,  and,  having  re 
peated  the  hymn  Veni  Creator,  solemnly  pledged  her 
self  to  take  no  other  man  for  her  husband  than  the 
prince  of  Spain.29 

This  proceeding  took  place  on  the  thirtieth  of  Oc 
tober.  On  the  seventeenth  of  the  month  following, 
the  commons  waited  on  the  queen  at  her  palace  of 
Whitehall,  to  which  she  was  confined  by  indisposition, 
and  presented  their  address.  Mary,  instead  of  reply 
ing  by  her  chancellor,  as  was  usual,  answered  them  in 
person.  She  told  them  that  from  God  she  held  her 
crown,  and  that  to  him  alone  should  she  turn  for 
counsel  in  a  matter  so  important ;  3°  she  had  not  yet 
made  up  her  mind  to  marry ;  but,  since  they  consid 
ered  it  so  necessary  for  the  weal  of  the  kingdom,  she 
would  take  it  into  consideration.  It  was  a  matter  in 
which  no  one  was  so  much  interested  as  herself.  But 
they  might  be  assured  that  in  her  choice  she  would 
have  regard  to  the  happiness  of  her  people  full  as 
much  as  to  her  own.  The  commons,  who  had  rarely 
the  courage  to  withstand  the  frown  of  their  Tudor 

°9  "  Le  soir  du  30  Octobre,  la  reine  fit  venir  en  sa  chambre,  ou  etoit 
expose  le  saint  sacrement,  1'ambassadeur  de  1'empereur,  et,  apres 
avoir  dit  le  Veni  creator,  lui  dit  qu'elle  lui  donnoit  en  face  dudit  sa 
crement  sa  promesse  d'epouser  le  prince  d'Espagne,  laquelle  elle  ne 
changeroit  jamais ;  qu'elle  avoit  feint  d'etre  malade  les  deux  jours 
precedents,  mais  que  sa  maladie  avoit  etc  causee  par  le  travail  qu'elle 
avoit  eu  pour  prendre  cette  resolution."  MS.  in  the  Belgian  archives, 
cited  by  Mignet,  Charles-Quint,  p.  78,  note. 

3«  "  Qu'elle  tenoit  de  dieu  la  couronne  de  son  royaulme,  et  que  en 
luv  seul  esperoit  se  conseiller  de  chose  si  importante."  Ambassail  -s 
de  Noailles,  torn.  ii.  p.  269. 


PHILIP'S  PROPOSALS   OF  MARRIAGE.        89 

princes,  professed  themselves  contented  with  this  as 
surance;  and  from  this  moment  opposition  ceased 
from  that  quarter. 

Mary's  arguments  were  reinforced  by  more  concilia 
tory  but  not  less  efficacious  persuasives,  in  the  form  of 
gold  crowns,  gold  chains,  and  other  compliments  of 
the  like  nature,  which  were  distributed  pretty  liberally 
by  the  Spanish  ambassador  among  the  members  of  her 
council.31 

In  the  following  December  a  solemn  embassy  left 
Brussels,  to  wait  on  Mary  and  tender  her  the  hand  of 
Philip.  It  was  headed  by  Lamoral,  Count  Egmont, 
the  Flemish  noble  so  distinguished  in  later  years  by 
his  military  achievements,  and  still  more  by  his  mis 
fortunes.  He  was  attended  by  a  number  of  Flemish 
lords  and  a  splendid  body  of  retainers.  He  landed  in 
Kent,  where  the  rumor  went  abroad  that  it  was  Philip 
himself;  and  so  general  was  the  detestation  of  the 
Spanish  match  among  the  people  that  it  might  have 
gone  hard  with  the  envoy  had  the  mistake  not  been 
discovered.  Egmont  sailed  up  the  Thames,  and  went 
ashore  at  Tower  Wharf  on  the  second  of  January, 
1554.  He  was  received  with  all  honor  by  Lord  Wil 
liam  Howard  and  several  of  the  great  English  nobles, 
and  escorted  in  much  state  to  Westminster,  where  his 
table  was  supplied  at  the  charge  of  the  city.  Gardiner 
entertained  the  embassy  at  a  sumptuous  banquet ;  and 
the  next  day  Egmont  and  his  retinue  proceeded  to 

31  "  Le  dit  Lieutenant  a  fait  fondre  quatre  mil  escuz  pour  chaines, 
et  les  autres  mil  se  repartiront  en  argent,  comme  Ton  trouvera  mieulx 
convenir."  Renard,  ap.  Tytler,  Edward  VI.  and  Mary,  vol.  ii.  p. 
325- 

S* 


90  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

Hampton  Court,  "where  they  had  great  cheer,"  says 
an  old  chronicler,  "and  hunted  the  deer,  and  were  so 
greedy  of  their  destruction  that  they  gave  them  not 
fair  play  for  their  lives;  for,"  as  he  peevishly  com 
plains,  "  they  killed  rag  and  tag,  with  hands  and 
swords."32 

On  the  twelfth,  the  Flemish  count  was  presented  to 
the  queen,  and  tendered  her  proposals  of  marriage  in 
behalf  of  Prince  Philip.  Mary,  who  probably  thought 
she  had  made  advances  enough,  now  assumed  a  more 
reserved  air.  "  It  was  not  for  a  maiden  queen,"  she 
said,  "thus  publicly  to  enter  on  so  delicate  a  subject 
as  her  own  marriage.  This  would  be  better  done  by 
her  ministers,  to  whom  she  would  refer  him.  But 
this  she  would  have  him  understand,"  she  added,  as 
she  cast  her  eyes  on  the  ring  on  her  finger,  "her  realm 
was  her  first  husband,  and  none  other  should  induce 
her  to  violate  the  oath  which  she  had  pledged  at  her 
coronation." 

Notwithstanding  this  prudery  of  Mary,  she  had  al 
ready  manifested  such  a  prepossession  for  her  intended 
lord  as  to  attract  the  notice  of  her  courtiers,  one  of 
whom  refers  it  to  the  influence  of  a  portrait  of  Philip, 
of  which  she  had  become  "greatly  enamored."33 
That  such  a  picture  was  sent  to  her  appears  from  a 
letter  of  Philip's  aunt,  the  regent  of  the  Netherlands, 
in  which  she  tells  the  English  queen  that  she  has  sent 

32  Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  iii.  pp.  58,  59. — Holinshed,  Chronicles 
(London,  1808),  vol.  iv.  pp.  10,  34,  41. 

33  Strype  (Memorials,  vol.  iii.  p.  196),  who  quotes  a  passage  from  a 
MS.  of  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  the  application  of  which,  though  the  queen's 
name  is  omitted,  cannot  be  mistaken. 


MARRIAGE-ARTICLES.  91 

her  a  portrait  of  the  prince,  from  the  pencil  of  Titian, 
which  she  was  to  return  so  soon  as  she  was  in  posses 
sion  of  the  living  original.  It  had  been  taken  some 
three  years  before,  she  said,  and  was  esteemed  a  good 
likeness,  though  it  would  be  necessary,  as  in  the  case 
of  other  portraits  by  this  master,  to  look  at  it  from  a 
distance  in  order  to  see  the  resemblance.34 

The  marriage-treaty  was  drawn  up  with  great  cir 
cumspection,  under  the  chancellor's  direction.  It  will 
be  necessary  to  notice  only  the  most  important  pro 
visions.  It  was  stipulated  that  Philip  should  respect 
the  laws  of  England,  and  leave  every  man  in  the  full 
enjoyment  of  his  rights  and  immunities.  The  power 
of  conferring  titles,  honors,  emoluments,  and  offices 
of  every  description  was  to  be  reserved  to  the  queen. 
Foreigners  were  to  be  excluded  from  office.  The  issue 
of  the  marriage,  if  a  son,  was  to  succeed  to  the  English 
crown  and  to  the  Spanish  possessions  in  Burgundy  and 
the  Low  Countries.  But  in  case  of  the  death  of  Don 
Carlos,  Philip's  son,  the  issue  of  the  present  marriage 
was  to  receive,  in  addition  to  the  former  inheritance, 
Spain  and  her  dependencies.  The  queen  was  never  to 
leave  her  own  kingdom  without  her  express  desire. 
Her  children  were  not  to  be  taken  out  of  it  without 
the  consent  of  the  nobles.  In  case  of  Mary's  death, 
Philip  was  not  to  claim  the  right  of  taking  part  in  the 
government  of  the  country.  Further,  it  was  provided 

34  "  Si  est-ce  qu'elle  verra  assez  par  icelle  sa  ressemblance,  la  voyant 
a  son  jour  et  de  loing,  comme  sont  toutes  poinctures  dudict  Titian 
que  de  pres  ne  se  recongnoissent."  Marie,  Reine  de  Hongrie,  \ 
1'Ambassadeur  Renard,  novembre  19,  1553,  Papiers  d'6tat  de  Gran- 
velle,  torn.  iv.  p.  150. — It  may  be  from  a  copy  of  this  portrait  that  the 
engraving  was  made  which  is  prefixed  to  this  work. 


9 2  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

that  Philip  should  not  entangle  the  nation  in  his  wars 
with  France,  but  should  strive  to  maintain  the  same 
amicable  relations  that  now  subsisted  between  the  two 
countries.35 

Such  were  the  cautious  stipulations  of  this  treaty, 
which  had  more  the  aspect  of  a  treaty  for  defence 
against  an  enemy  than  a  marriage-contract.  The  in 
strument  was  worded  with  a  care  that  reflected  credit 
on  the  sagacity  of  its  framers.  All  was  done  that 
parchment  could  do  to  secure  the  independence  of  the 
crown,  as  well  as  the  liberties  of  the  people.  "But  if 
the  bond  be  violated,"  asked  one  of  the  parliamentary 
speakers  on  the  occasion,  "who  is  there  to  sue  the 
bond?"  Every  reflecting  Englishman  must  have  felt 
the  inefficacy  of  any  guarantee  that  could  be  extorted 
from  Philip,  who,  once  united  to  Mary,  would  find 
little  difficulty  in  persuading  a  fond  and  obedient  wife 
to  sanction  his  own  policy,  prejudicial  though  it  might 
be  to  the  true  interests  of  the  kingdom. 

No  sooner  was  the  marriage-treaty  made  public  than 
the  popular  discontent,  before  partially  disclosed, 
showed  itself  openly  throughout  the  country.  Pla 
cards  were  put  up,  lampoons  were  written,  reviling 
the  queen's  ministers  and  ridiculing  the  Spaniards; 
ominous  voices  were  heard  from  old,  dilapidated 
buildings,  boding  the  ruin  of  the  monarchy.  Even 
the  children  became  infected  with  the  passions  of 
their  fathers.  Games  were  played  in  which  the  Eng 
lish  were  represented  contending  with  the  Spaniards; 
and  in  one  of  these  an  unlucky  urchin,  who  played  the 

35  See  the  treaty  in  Rymer,  Foedera,  vol.  xv.  p.  377. 


INSURRECTION  IN  ENGLAND. 


93 


part  of  Philip,  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life  from  the 
hands  of  his  exasperated  comrades. 3<s 

But  something  more  serious  than  child's  play  showed 
itself,  in  three  several  insurrections  which  broke  out  in 
different  quarters  of  the  kingdom.  The  most  formi 
dable  of  them  was  the  one  led  by  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt, 
son  of  the  celebrated  poet  of  that  name.  It  soon 
gathered  head,  and  the  number  of  the  insurgents  was 
greatly  augmented  by  the  accession  of  a  considerable 
body  of  the  royal  forces,  who  deserted  their  colors  and 
joined  the  very  men  against  whom  they  had  been  sent. 
Thus  strengthened,  Wyatt  marched  on  London.  All 
there  were  filled  with  consternation, —  all  but  their 
intrepid  queen,  who  showed  as  much  self-possession 
and  indifference  to  danger  as  if  it  were  only  an  ordi 
nary  riot. 

Proceeding  at  once  into  the  city,  she  met  the  people 
at  Guildhall,  and  made  them  a  spirited  address,  which 
has  been  preserved  in  the  pages  of  Holinshed.  It 
concludes  in  the  following  bold  strain,  containing  an 
allusion  to  the  cause  of  the  difficulties:  "And  cer 
tainly,  if  I  did  either  know  or  think  that  this  marriage 
should  either  turn  to  the  danger  or  loss  of  any  of  you, 
my  loving  subjects,  or  to  the  detriment  or  impairing 
of  any  part  or  parcel  of  the  royal  estate  of  this  realm 
of  England,  I  would  never  consent  thereunto,  neither 
would  I  ever  marry  while  I  lived.  And  on  the  word 
of  a  queen,  I  promise  and  assure  you  that,  if  it  shall 
not  probably  appear  before  the  nobility  and  commons, 

36  "  par  ]ai"  adds  Noailles,  who  tells  the  story,  "  vous  pouvez  veoir 
comme  le  prince  d'Espagne  sera  le  bien  venu  en  ce  pays,  puisque  les 
enfans  le  logent  au  gibet."  Ambassades  de  Noailles,  torn.  iii.  p.  130. 


94  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

in  the  high  court  of  parliament,  that  this  marriage 
shall  be  for  the  singular  benefit  and  commodity  of  all 
the  whole  realm,  that  then  I  will  abstain  not  only  from 
this  marriage,  but  also  from  any  other  whereof  peril 
may  ensue  to  this  most  noble  realm.  Wherefore  now 
as  good  and  faithful  subjects  pluck  up  your  hearts,  and 
like  true  men  stand  fast  with  your  lawful  prince  against 
these  rebels,  both  our  enemies  and  yours,  and  fear  them 
not;  for  I  assure  you  that  I  fear  them  nothing  at  all !" 37 
The  courageous  spirit  of  their  queen  communicated 
itself  to  her  audience,  and  in  a  few  hours  twenty 
thousand  citizens  enrolled  themselves  under  the  royal 
banner. 

Meanwhile,  the  rebel  force  continued  its  march,  and 
reports  soon  came  that  Wyatt  was  on  the  opposite 
bank  of  the  Thames ;  then,  that  he  had  crossed  the 
river.  Soon  his  presence  was  announced  by  the  flight 
of  a  good  number  of  the  royalists,  among  whom  was 
Courtenay,  who  rode  off  before  the  enemy  at  a  speed 
that  did  little  credit  to  his  valor.  All  was  now  con 
fusion  again.  The  lords  and  ladies  in  attendance 
gathered  round  the  queen  at  Whitehall,  as  if  to  seek 
support  from  her  more  masculine  nature.  Her  min 
isters  went  down  on  their  knees  to  implore  her  to  take 
refuge  in  the  Tower,  as  the  only  place  of  safety. 
Mary  smiled  with  contempt  at  the  pusillanimous  pro 
posal,  and  resolved  to  remain  where  she  was  and  abide 
the  issue. 

It  was  not  long  in  coming.     Wyatt  penetrated  as  far 

37  Holinshed,  vol.  iv.  p.  16. — The  accounts  of  this  insurrection  are 
familiar  to  the  English  reader,  as  given,  at  more  or  less  length,  in 
every  history  of  the  period. 


INSURRECTION  IN  ENGLAND.  95 

as  Ludgate,  with  desperate  courage,  but  was  not  well 
seconded  by  his  followers.  The  few  who  proved  faith 
ful  were  surrounded  and  overwhelmed  by  numbers. 
Wyatt  was  made  prisoner,  and  the  whole  rebel  rout 
discomfited  and  dispersed.  By  this  triumph  over  her 
enemies,  Mary  was  seated  more  strongly  than  ever  on 
the  throne.  Henceforward  the  Spanish  match  did  not 
meet  with  opposition  from  the  people,  any  more  than 
from  the  parliament. 

Still,  the  emperor,  after  this  serious  demonstration 
of  hostility  to  his  son,  felt  a  natural  disquietude  in 
regard  to  his  personal  safety,  which  made  him  desirous 
of  obtaining  some  positive  guarantee  before  trusting 
him  among  the  turbulent  islanders.  He  wrote  to  his 
ambassador  to  require  such  security  from  the  govern 
ment.  But  no  better  could  be  given  than  the  royal 
promise  that  every  thing  should  be  done  to  insure  the 
prince's  safety.  Renard  was  much  perplexed.  He  felt 
the  responsibility  of  his  own  position.  He  declined 
to  pledge  himself  for  the  quiet  deportment  of  the 
English ;  but  he  thought  matters  had  already  gone  too 
far  to  leave  it  in  the  power  of  Spain  to  recede.  He 
wrote,  moreover,  both  to  Charles  and  to  Philip,  recom 
mending  that  the  prince  should  not  bring  over  with 
him  a  larger  retinue  of  Spaniards  than  was  necessary, 
and  that  the  wives  of  his  nobles — for  he  seems  to  have 
regarded  the  sex  as  the  source  of  evil — should  not 
accompany  them.38  Above  all,  he  urged  Philip  and 

38  "  L'on  a  escript  d'Espaigne  que  plusieurs  sieurs  deliberoient 
amener  leurs  femmes  avec  eulx  parde9a.  Si  ainsi  est,  vostre  Majeste 
pourra  preveoir  ung  grand  desordre  en  ceste  court."  Renard,  ap. 
Tytler,  Edward  VI.  and  Mary,  vol.  ii.  p.  351. 


96  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

his  followers  to  lay  aside  the  Castilian  hauteur,  and  to 
substitute  the  conciliatory  manners  which  might  disarm 
the  jealousy  of  the  English.39 

39  "  Seullement  sera  requis  que  les  Espaignolez  qui  suyvront  vostre 
Alteze  comportent  les  fa9ons  de  faire  des  Angloys,  et  soient  modestes, 
confians  que  vostre  Alteze  les  aicarassera  par  son  humanite  costumiere." 
Renard,  ap.  Tytler,  Edward  VI.  and  Mary,  vol.  ii.  p.  335. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

ENGLISH   ALLIANCE. 

Mary's  Betrothal. — Joanna  Regent  of  Castile. — Philip  embarks  for 
England. — His  splendid  Reception. — Marriage  of  Philip  and  Mary. 
— Royal  Entertainments.— Philip's  Influence.— The  Catholic  Church 
restored. — Philip's  Departure. 

1554,    1555- 

IN  the  month  of  March,  1554,  Count  Egmont  arrived 
in  England,  on  a  second  embassy,  for  the  purpose  of 
exchanging  the  ratifications  of  the  marriage-treaty. 
He  came  in  the  same  state  as  before,  and  was  received 
by  the  queen  in  the  presence  of  her  council.  The 
ceremony  was  conducted  with  great  solemnity.  Mary, 
kneeling  down,  called  God  to  witness  that  in  contract 
ing  this  marriage  she  had  been  influenced  by  no  motive 
of  a  carnal  or  worldly  nature,  but  by  the  desire  of 
securing  the  welfare  and  tranquillity  of  the  kingdom. 
To  her  kingdom  her  faith  had  first  been  plighted  ; 
and  she  hoped  that  Heaven  would  give  her  strength 
to  maintain  inviolate  the  oath  she  had  taken  at  her 
coronation. 

This  she  said  with  so  much  grace  that  the  bystanders, 
says  Renard, — who  was  one  of  them, — were  all  moved 
to  tears.  The  ratifications  were  then  exchanged,  and 
the  oaths  taken,  in  presence  of  the  host,  by  the  repre 
sentatives  of  Spain  and  England;  when  Mary,  again 
Philip.— VOL.  I.— E  9  ( 97  ) 


98  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

kneeling,  called  on  those  present  to  unite  with  her  in 
prayer  to  the  Almighty  that  he  would  enable  her  faith 
fully  to  keep  the  articles  of  the  treaty  and  would  make 
her  marriage  a  happy  one. 

Count  Egmont  then  presented  to  the  queen  a  diamond 
ring  which  the  emperor  had  sent  her.  Mary,  putting 
it  on  her  finger,  showed  it  to  the  company;  "and 
assuredly,"  exclaims  the  Spanish  minister,  "the  jewel 
was  a  precious  one,  and  well  worthy  of  admiration." 
Egmont,  before  departing  for  Spain,  inquired  of  Mary 
whether  she  would  intrust  him  with  any  message  to 
Prince  Philip.  The  queen  replied  that  "he  might 
tender  to  the  prince  her  most  affectionate  regards,  and 
assure  him  that  she  should  be  always  ready  to  vie  with 
him  in  such  offices  of  kindness  as  became  a  loving  and 
obedient  wife."  When  asked  if  she  would  write  to 
him,  she  answered,  "Not  till  he  had  begun  the  corre 
spondence."  * 

This  lets  us  into  the  knowledge  of  a  little  fact,  very 
significant.  Up  to  this  time  Philip  had  neither  written 
nor  so  much  as  sent  a  single  token  of  regard  to  his 
mistress.  All  this  had  been  left  to  his  father.  Charles 
had  arranged  the  marriage,  had  wooed  the  bride,  had 
won  over  her  principal  advisers, — in  short,  had  done 
all  the  courtship.  Indeed,  the  inclinations  of  Philip, 
it  is  said,  had  taken  another  direction,  and  he  would 
have  preferred  the  hand  of  his  royal  kinswoman,  Mary 

1  The  particulars  of  this  interview  are  taken  from  one  of  Renard's 
despatches  to  the  emperor,  dated  March  8th,  1554,  ap.  Tytler,  England 
under  the  Reigns  of  Edward  VI.  and  Mary  (vol.  ii.  pp.  326-329), — a 
work  in  which  the  author,  by  the  publication  of  original  documents, 
and  his  own  sagacious  commentary,  has  done  much  for  the  illustration 
of  this  portion  of  English  history. 


MARY'S  BETROTHAL. 


99 


of  Portugal.2  However  this  may  be,  it  is  not  probable 
that  he  felt  any  great  satisfaction  in  the  prospect  of 
being  united  to  a  woman  who  was  eleven  years  older 
than  himself,  and  whose  personal  charms,  whatever 
they  might  once  have  been,  had  long  since  faded, 
under  the  effects  of  disease  and  a  constitutional  melan 
choly.  But  he  loved  power;  and  whatever  scruples 
he  might  have  entertained  on  his  own  account  were 
silenced  before  the  wishes  of  his  father.3  "Like  another 
Isaac,"  exclaims  Sandoval,  in  admiration  of  his  con 
duct,  "he  sacrificed  himself  on  the  altar  of  filial 
duty."4  The  same  implicit  deference  which  Philip 
showed  his  father  in  this  delicate  matter  he  afterwards, 
under  similar  circumstances,  received  from  his  own 
son. 

After  the  marriage-articles  had  been  ratified,  Philip 

*  Florez,  Reynas  Catholicas,  torn.  ii.  p.  890. 

3  Philip  would  have  preferred  that  Charles  should  carry  out  his 
original  design,  by  taking  Mary  for  his  own  wife.    But  he  acquiesced, 
without  a  murmur,  in  the  choice  his  father  made  for  him.     Mignet 
quotes  a  passage  from  a  letter  of  Philip  to  the  emperor  on  this  subject, 
which  shows  him  to  have  been  a  pattern  of  filial  obedience.    The  letter 
is  copied  by  Gonzales  in  his  unpublished  work,  Retire  y  Estancia  de 
Carlos  Quinto :    "Y  que  pues  piensan  proponer  su  matrimonio  con 
Vuestra  Magestad,  hallandose  en  disposicion  para  ello,  esto  seria  lo 
mas  acertado.    Pero  en  caso  que  Vuestra  Magestad  esta  en  lo  que  me 
escribe  y  le  pareciere  tratar  de  lo  que  a  mi  toca,  ya  Vuestra  Magestad 
sabe  que,  como  tan  obediente  hijo,  no  he  tener  mas  voluntad  que  la 
suya ;  cuanto  mas  siendo  este  negocio  de  importancia  y  calidad  que 
es.     Y  asi  me  ha  parecido  remitirlo  d  Vuestra  Magestad  para  que  en 
todo  haya  lo  que  le  pareciera,  y  fuere  servido."     Mignet,  Charles- 
Quint,  p.  76. 

4  "  Higo  en  esto  lo  que  un  Isaac  dexandose  sacrificar  por  hazer  la 
voluntad  de  su  padre,  y  por  el  bien  de  la  Iglesia."    Sandoval,  Hist,  de 
Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  557. 


loo  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

sent  a  present  of  a  magnificent  jewel  to  the  English 
queen,  by  a  Spanish  noble  of  high  rank,  the  Marquis 
de  las  Navas.5  The  marquis,  who  crossed  from  Biscay 
with  a  squadron  of  four  ships,  landed  at  Plymouth,  and, 
as  he  journeyed  towards  London,  was  met  by  the  young 
Lord  Herbert,  son  of  the  earl  of  Pembroke,  who  con 
ducted  him,  with  an  escort  of  four  hundred  mounted 
gentlemen,  to  his  family  seat  in  Wiltshire.  "And  as 
they  rode  together  to  Wilton,"  says  Lord  Edmund 
Dudley,  one  of  the  party,  "  there  were  certain  courses 
at  the  hare,  which  was  so  pleasant  that  the  marquis 
much  delighted  in  finding  the  course  so  readily  ap 
pointed.  As  for  the  marquis's  great  cheer,  as  well  that 
night  at  supper  as  otherwise  at  his  breakfast  the  next 
day,  surely  it  was  so  abundant,  that  it  was  not  a  little 
marvel  to  consider  that  so  great  a  preparation  could  be 
made  in  so  small  a  warning.  .  .  .  Surely  it  was  not  a 
little  comfort  to  my  heart  to  see  all  things  so  honor 
ably  used  for  the  honor  and  service  of  the  queen's 
majesty. ' ' 6 

Meanwhile,  Philip  was  making  his  arrangements  for 

5  A  single  diamond  in  the  ornament  which  Philip  sent  his  queen  was 
valued  at  eighty  thousand  crowns  :  "  Una  joya  que  don  Filipe  le 
enbiaba,  en  que  avia  un  diamante  de  valor  de  ochenta  mil  escudos." 
Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  4. 

*  Letter  of  Lord  Edmund  Dudley  to  the  Lords  of  the  Council,  MS. 
This  document,  with  other  MSS.  relating  to  this  period,  was  kindly 
furnished  to  me  by  the  late  lamented  Mr.  Tytler,  who  copied  them 
from  the  originals  in  the  State  Paper  Office. — The  young  Lord  Herbert 
mentioned  in  the  text  became  afterwards  that  earl  of  Pembroke  who 
married,  for  his  second  wife,  the  celebrated  sister  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  to 
whom  he  dedicated  the  "  Arcadia," — less  celebrated,  perhaps,  from  this 
dedication  than  from  the  epitaph  on  her  monument,  by  Ben  Jonson, 
in  Salisbury  Cathedral. 


JOANNA   REGENT  OF  CASTILE.  ioi 

leaving  Spain  and  providing  a  government  for  the 
country  during  his  absence.  It  was  decided  by  the 
emperor  to  intrust  the  regency  to  his  daughter,  the 
Princess  Joanna.  She  was  eight  years  younger  than 
Philip.  About  eighteen  months  before,  she  had  gone 
to  Portugal  as  the  bride  of  the  heir  of  that  kingdom. 
But  the  fair  promise  afforded  by  this  union  was  blasted 
by  the  untimely  death  of  her  consort,  which  took  place 
on  the  second  of  January,  1554.  Three  weeks  after 
wards,  the  unhappy  widow  gave  birth  to  a  son,  the 
famous  Don  Sebastian,  whose  Quixotic  adventures  have 
given  him  a  wider  celebrity  than  is  enjoyed  by  many  a 
wiser  sovereign.  After  the  cruel  calamity  which  had 
befallen  her,  it  was  not  without  an  effort  that  Joanna 
resigned  herself  to  her  father's  wishes  and  consented  to 
enter  on  the  duties  of  public  life.  In  July  she  quitted 
Lisbon, — the  scene  of  early  joys,  and  of  hopes  forever 
blighted, — and,  amidst  the  regrets  of  the  whole  court, 
returned,  under  a  princely  escort,  to  Castile.  She  was 
received  on  the  borders  by  the  king,  her  brother,  who 
conducted  her  to  Valladolid.  Here  she  was  installed, 
with  due  solemnity,  in  her  office  of  regent.  A  council 
of  state  was  associated  with  her  in  the  government.  It 
consisted  of  persons  of  the  highest  consideration,  with 
the  archbishop  of  Seville  at  their  head.  By  this  body 
Joanna  was  to  be  advised,  and  indeed  to  be  guided  in 
all  matters  of  moment.  Philip,  on  his  departure,  left 
his  sister  an  ample  letter  of  instructions  as  to  the 
policy  to  be  pursued  by  the  administration,  especially 
in  affairs  of  religion.7 

7  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  4. — Florez,  Reynas  Catholicas, 
torn.  ii.  p.  873. — Memorial  des  Voyages  du  Roi,  MS. 


102  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE, 

Joanna  seems  to  have  been  a  woman  of  discretion 
and  virtue, — qualities  which  belonged  to  the  females 
of  her  line.  She  was  liberal  in  her  benefactions  to 
convents  and  colleges;  and  their  cloistered  inmates 
showed  their  gratitude  by  the  most  lavish  testimony  to 
her  deserts.  She  had  one  rather  singular  practice. 
She  was  in  the  habit  of  dropping  her  veil  when  giving 
audience  to  foreign  ambassadors.  To  prevent  all  doubts 
as  to  her  personal  identity,  she  began  the  audience  by 
raising  her  veil,  saying,  "Am  I  not  the  princess?"  She 
then  again  covered  her  face,  and  the  conference  was 
continued  without  her  further  exposing  her  features. 
"It  was  not  necessary,"  says  her  biographer,  in  an 
accommodating  spirit,  "to  have  the  face  uncovered 
in  order  to  hear."1  Perhaps  Joanna  considered  this 
reserve  as  suited  to  the  season  of  her  mourning,  in 
tending  it  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  her 
deceased  lord.  In  any  other  view,  we  might  suspect 
that  there  entered  into  her  constitution  a  vein  of  the 
same  madness  which  darkened  so  large  a  part  of  the  life 
of  her  grandmother  and  namesake,  Joanna  of  Castile. 

Before  leaving  Valladolid,  Philip  formed  a  separate 
establishment  for  his  son,  Don  Carlos,  and  placed  his 
education  under  the  care  of  a  preceptor,  Luis  de  Vives, 
a  scholar  not  to  be  confounded  with  his  namesake,  the 
learned  tutor  of  Mary  of  England.  Having  completed 

8  "  Y  prevenida  de  que  los  Embajadores  se  quejaban,  pretextnndo 
que  no  sabian  si  hablaban  con  la  Princesa ;  levantaba  el  manto  al 
empezar  la  Audiencia,  preguntando  &  Soy  la  Princesa  ?  y  en  oyendo 
responder  que  si,  volvia  a  echarse  el  velo,  como  que  ya  cessaba  el 
inconveniente  de  ignorar  con  quien  hablaban,  y  que  para  ver  no  necessi- 
Uba  tener  la  cara  descubierta."  Florez,  Reynas  Catholicas,  torn.  iL 
P-  873- 


.      PHILIP  EMBARKS  FOR  ENGLAND.          103 

his  arrangements,  Philip  set  out  for  the  place  of  his 
embarkation  in  the  north.  At  Compostella  he  passed 
some  days,  offering  up  his  devotions  to  the  tutelar 
saint  of  Spain,  whose  shrine  throughout  the  Middle 
'Ages  had  been  the  most  popular  resort  of  pilgrims 
from  the  western  parts  of  Christendom. 

While  at  Compostella,  Philip  subscribed  the  marriage- 
treaty,  which  had  been  brought  over  from  England  by 
the  earl  of  Bedford.  He  then  preceded  to  Corunna, 
where  a  fleet  of  more  than  a  hundred  sail  was  riding  at 
anchor,  in  readiness  to  receive  him.  It  was  commanded 
by  the  admiral  of  Castile,  and  had  on  board,  besides 
its  complement  of  seamen,  four  thousand  of  the  best 
troops  of  Spain.  On  the  eleventh  of  July,  Philip  em 
barked,  with  his  numerous  retinue,  in  which,  together 
with  the  Flemish  Counts  Egmont  and  Hoorne,  were 
to  be  seen  the  dukes  of  Alva  and  Medina  Celi,  the 
prince  of  Eboli, — in  short,  the  flower  of  the  Castilian 
nobility.  They  came  attended  by  their  wives  and 
vassals,  minstrels  and  mummers,  and  a  host  of  idle 
followers,  to  add  to  the  splendor  of  the  pageant  and 
do  honor  to  their  royal  master.  Yet  the  Spanish 
ambassador  at  London  had  expressly  recommended  to 
Philip  that  his  courtiers  should  leave  their  ladies  at 
home,  and  should  come  in  as  simple  guise  as  possible, 
so  as  not  to  arouse  the  jealousy  of  the  English.9 

After  a  pleasant  run  of  a  few  days,  the  Spanish 
squadron  came  in  sight  of  the  combined  fleets  of 
England  and  Flanders,  under  the  command  of  the 

9  Letter  of  Bedford  and  Fitzwaters  to  the  Council,  ap.  Tytler,  Ed 
ward  VI.  and  Mary,  voL  ii.  p.  410. — Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i. 
cap.  4,  5. — Sepulvedae  Opera,  vol.  ii.  pp.  496,  497. 


I04  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

Lord  Admiral  Howard,  who  was  cruising  in  the  chan 
nel  in  order  to  meet  the  prince  and  convoy  him  to  the 
English  shore.  The  admiral  seems  to  have  been  a 
blunt  sort  of  man,  who  spoke  his  mind  with  more  can 
dor  than  courtesy.  He  greatly  offended  the  Flemings 
by  comparing  their  ships  to  muscle-shells.10  He  is 
even  said  to  have  fired  a  gun  as  he  approached  Philip's 
squadron,  in  order  to  compel  it  to  lower  its  topsails  in 
acknowledgment  of  the  supremacy  of  the  English  in 
the  "  narrow  seas."  But  this  is  probably  the  patriotic 
vaunt  of  an  English  writer,  since  it  is  scarcely  possible 
that  the  haughty  Spaniard  of  that  day  would  have  made 
such  a  concession,  and  still  less  so  that  the  British  com 
mander  would  have  been  so  discourteous  as  to  exact  it 
on  this  occasion. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  July  the  fleets  came  to  anchor 
in  the  port  of  Southampton.  A  number  of  barges  were 
soon  seen  pushing  off  from  the  shore ;  one  of  which,  pro 
tected  by  a  rich  awning  and  superbly  lined  with  cloth 
of  gold,  was  manned  by  sailors  whose  dress  of  white  and 
green  intimated  the  royal  livery.  It  was  the  queen's 
barge,  intended  for  Philip;  while  the  other  boats,  all 
gaily  ornamented,  received  his  nobles  and  their  retinues. 

The  Spanish  prince  was  welcomed,  on  landing,  by 
a  goodly  company  of  English  lords,  assembled  to  pay 
him  their  obeisance.  The  earl  of  Arundel  presented 
him,  in  the  queen's  name,  with  the  splendid  insignia 
of  the  order  of  the  Garter."  Philip's  dress,  as  usual, 

10  "  II  appelle  les  navires  de  la  flotte  de  vostre  Majeste  coquille.'.  de 
moules,  et  plusieurs  semblables  particularitez."     Letter  of  Renard, 
ap.  Tytler,  Edward  VI.  and  Mary,  vol.  ii.  p.  414. 

11  "  L'ordre  de  la  Jaretiere,  que  la  Royne  et  les  Chevaliers  ont 


PHILIP'S  SPLENDID   RECEPTION.          105 

was  of  plain  black  velvet,  with  a  berret  cap,  orna 
mented,  after  the  fashion  of  the  time,  with  gold  chains. 
By  Mary's  orders,  a  spirited  Andalusian  jennet  had 
been  provided  for  him,  which  the  prince  instantly 
mounted.  He  was  a  good  rider,  and  pleased  the 
people  by  his  courteous  bearing  and  the  graceful 
manner  in  which  he  managed  his  horse. 

The  royal  procession  then  moved  forward  to  the 
ancient  church  of  the  Holy  Rood,  where  mass  was  said, 
and  thanks  were  offered  up  for  their  prosperous  voyage. 
Philip,  after  this,  repaired  to  the  quarters  assigned  to 
him  during  his  stay  in  the  town.  They  were  sump 
tuously  fitted  up,  and  the  walls  of  the  principal  apart 
ment  hung  with  arras,  commemorating  the  doings  of 
that  royal  polemic,  Henry  the  Eighth.  Among  other 
inscriptions  in  honor  of  him  might  be  seen  one  pro 
claiming  him  "Head  of  the  Church"  and  "Defender 
of  the  Faith," — words  which,  as  they  were  probably  in 
Latin,  could  not  have  been  lost  on  the  Spaniards.12 

The  news  of  Philip's  landing  was  received  in  London 
with  every  demonstration  of  joy.  Guns  were  fired, 
bells  were  rung,  processions  were  made  to  the  churches, 
bonfires  were  lighted  in  all  the  principal  streets,  tables 
were  spread  in  the  squares,  laden  with  good  cheer,  and 

concludz  luy  donner;  et  en  a.  fait  faire  une  la  Royne,  qu'est  estimee 
sept  ou  huict  mil  escuz,  et  joinctement  fait  faire  plusieurs  riches  ha- 
billemens  pour  son  Altese."  Letter  of  Renard,  ap.  Tytler,  Edward 
VI.  and  Mary,  vol.  ii.  p.  416. 

12  Salazar  de  Mendoza,  Monnrquia  de  Espafia  (Madrid,  1770),  torn, 
ii.  p.  118. — Ambassades  de  Noailles,  torn.  iii.  pp.  283-286.— Sepul- 
vedse  Opera,  vol.  ii.  p.  498.— Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  5. 
— Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  231. — Ilolinshed,  vol.  iv.  p.  57. 
— Memorial  des  Voyages  du  Roi,  MS. 
E* 


I06  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

wine  and  ale  flowed  freely  as  water  for  all  comers.13  In 
short,  the  city  gave  itself  up  to  a  general  jubilee,  as  if 
it  were  celebrating  some  victorious  monarch  returned 
to  his  dominions,  and  not  the  man  whose  name  had 
lately  been  the  object  of  such  general  execration.  Mary 
gave  instant  orders  that  the  nobles  of  her  court  should 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  accompany  her  to  Win 
chester,  where  she  was  to  receive  the  prince;  and  on 
the  twenty-first  of  July  she  made  her  entry,  in  great 
state,  into  that  capital,  and  established  her  residence 
at  the  episcopal  palace. 

During  the  few  days  that  Philip  stayed  at  Southamp 
ton  he  rode  constantly  abroad,  and  showed  himself 
frequently  to  the  people.  The  information  he  had 
received,  before  his  voyage,  of  the  state  of  public 
feeling,  had  suggested  to  him.  some  natural  apprehen 
sions  for  his  safety.  He  seems  to  have  resolved  from 
the  first,  therefore,  to  adopt  such  a  condescending  and 
indeed  affable  demeanor  as  would  disarm  the  jealousy 
of  the  English  and,  if  possible,  conciliate  their  good 
will.  In  this  he  appears  to  have  been  very  successful, 
although  some  of  the  more  haughty  of  the  aristocracy 
did  take  exception  at  his  neglecting  to  raise  his  cap  to 
them.  That  he  should  have  imposed  the  degree  of 
restraint  which  he  seems  to  have  done  on  the  indul 
gence  of  his  natural  disposition  is  good  proof  of  the 
strength  of  his  apprehensions.14 

J3  Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  iii.  pp.  127,  128. 

M  The  change  in  Philip's  manners  seems  to  have  attracted  general 
attention.  We  find  Wotton,  the  ambassador  at  the  French  court, 
speaking,  in  one  of  his  letters,  of  the  report  of  it  as  having  reached 
his  ears  in  Paris.  Wotton  to  Sir  W.  Petre,  August  loth,  1554,  MS. 


PHILIFS  SPLENDID   RECEPTION.  107 

The  favor  which  Philip  showed  the  English  gave 
umbrage  to  his  own  nobles.  They  were  still  more 
disgusted  by  the  rigid  interpretation  of  one  of  the 
marriage-articles,  by  which  some  hundreds  of  their  at 
tendants  were  prohibited,  as  foreigners,  from  landing, 
or,  after  landing,  were  compelled  to  re-embark  and 
return  to  Spain.15  Whenever  Philip  went  abroad  he 
was  accompanied  by  Englishmen.  He  was  served  by 
Englishmen  at  his  meals.  He  breakfasted  and  dined 
in  public, — a  thing  but  little  to  his  taste.  He  drank 
healths,  after  the  manner  of  the  English,  and  encour 
aged  his  Spanish  followers  to  imitate  his  example,  as 
he  quaffed  the  strong  ale  of  the  country.16 

On  the  twenty-third  of  the  month  the  earl  of  Pem 
broke  arrived,  with  a  brilliant  company  of  t\vo  hundred 
mounted  gentlemen,  to  escort  the  prince  to  Winchester. 
He  was  attended,  moreover,  by  a  body  of  English 
archers,  whose  tunics  of  yellow  cloth  striped  with  bars 
of  red  velvet  displayed  the  gaudy-colored  livery  of  the 
house  of  Aragon.  The  day  was  unpropitious.  The 
rain  fell  heavily,  in  such  torrents  as  might  have  cooled 

*s  According  to  Noailles,  Philip  forbade  the  Spaniards  to  leave  their 
ships,  on  pain  of  being  hanged  when  they  set  foot  on  shore.  This 
was  enforcing  the  provisions  of  the  marriage-treaty  en  rigueur  :  "Apres 
que  ledict  prince  fust  descendu,  il  fict  crier  et  commanda  aux  Espai- 
gnols  que  chascun  se  retirast  en  son  navire  et  que  sur  la  peyne  d'estre 
pendu,  nul  ne  descendist  a  terre."  Ambassades  de  Noailles,  torn.  Hi. 
P-  27. 

16  Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn,  i  pp.  231,  232. — "  Lors  il  appella  les 
seigneurs  Espaignols  qui  estoient  pres  de  luy  et  leur  diet  qu'il  falloit 
desormais  oublier  toutes  les  coustumes  d'Espaigne,  et  vifvre  de  tous 
poincts  a  1'Angloise,  a  quoy  il  voulloit  bien  commancer  et  leur  mon- 
strer  le  chemin,  puis  se  fist  apporter  de  la  biere  de  laquelle  il  beut." 
Ambassades  de  Noailles,  torn.  iii.  p.  287. 


loS  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

the  enthusiasm  of  a  more  ardent  lover  than  Philip. 
But  he  was  too  gallant  a  cavalier  to  be  daunted  by  the 
elements.  The  distance,  not  great  in  itself,  was  to  be 
travelled  on  horseback, — the  usual  mode  of  conveyance 
at  a  time  when  roads  were  scarcely  practicable  for 
carriages. 

Philip  and  his  retinue  had  not  proceeded  far  when 
they  were  encountered  by  a  cavalier,  riding  at  full 
speed,  and  bringing  with  him  a  ring  which  Mary  had 
sent  her  lover,  with  the  request  that  he  would  not 
expose  himself  to  the  weather,  but  postpone  his  de 
parture  to  the  following  day.  The  prince,  not  under 
standing  the  messenger,  who  spoke  in  English,  and 
suspecting  that  it  was  intended  by  Mary  to  warn  him 
of  some  danger  in  his  path,  instantly  drew  up  by  the 
road-side,  and  took  counsel  with  Alva  and  Egmont  as 
to  what  was  to  be  done.  One  of  the  courtiers,  who 
perceived  his  embarrassment,  rode  up  and  acquainted 
the  prince  with  the  real  purport  of  the  message.  Re 
lieved  of  his  alarm,  Philip  no  longer  hesitated,  but, 
with  his  red  felt  cloak  wrapped  closely  about  him  and 
a  broad  beaver  slouched  over  his  eyes,  manfully  pushed 
forward,  in  spite  of  the  tempest. 

As  he  advanced,  his  retinue  received  continual 
accessions  from  the  neighboring  gentry  and  yeomanry, 
until  it  amounted  to  some  thousands  before  he  reached 
Winchester.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  the 
cavalcade,  soiled  with  travel  and  thoroughly  drenched 
with  rain,  arrived  before  the  gates  of  the  city.  The 
mayor  and  aldermen,  dressed  in  their  robes  of  scarlet, 
came  to  welcome  the  prince,  and,  presenting  the  keys 
of  the  city,  conducted  him  to  his  quarters. 


MARRIAGE    OF  PHILIP  AND   MARY.         109 

That  evening  Philip  had  his  first  interview  with 
Mary.  It  was  private,  and  he  was  taken  to  her  resi 
dence  by  the  chancellor,  Gardiner,  bishop  of  Win 
chester.  The  royal  pair  passed  an  hour  or  more 
together;  and,  as  Mary  spoke  the  Castilian  fluently, 
the  interview  must  have  been  spared  much  of  the  em 
barrassment  that  would  otherwise  have  attended  it.17 

On  the  following  day  the  parties  met  in  public. 
Philip  was  attended  by  the  principal  persons  of  his 
suite,  of  both  sexes ;  and  as  the  procession,  making  a 
goodly  show,  passed  through  the  streets  on  foot,  the 
minstrelsy  played  before  them  till  they  reached  the 
royal  residence.  The  reception-room  was  the  great 
hall  of  the  palace.  Mary,  stepping  forward  to  receive 
her  betrothed,  saluted  him  with  a  loving  kiss  before  all 
the  company.  She  then  conducted  him  to  a  sort  of 
throne,  where  she  took  her  seat  by  his  side,  under  a 
stately  canopy.  They  remained  there  for  an  hour  or 
more,  conversing  together,  while  their  courtiers  had 
leisure  to  become  acquainted  with  one  another,  and  to 
find  ample  food,  doubtless,  for  future  criticism,  in  the 
peculiarities  of  national  costume  and  manners.  Not 
withstanding  the  Spanish  blood  in  Mary's  veins,  the 
higher  circles  of  Spain  and  England  had  personally 
almost  as  little  intercourse  with  one  another  at  that 
period  as  England  and  Japan  have  at  the  present. 

*7  According  to  Sepulveda,  Philip  gave  a  most  liberal  construction 
to  the  English  custom  of  salutation,  kissing  not  only  his  betrothed, 
but  all  the  ladies  in  waiting,  matrons  and  maidens,  without  distinc 
tion  :  "  Intra  aedes  progressam  saluta'ns  Britannico  more  suaviavit ; 
habitoque  longiore  et  jucundissimo  colloquio,  Philippus  matronas 
etiam  et  Regias  virgines  sigillatim  salutat  osculaturque."  Sepulvedae 
Opera,  vol.  ii.  p.  499. 

'""'Philip.— VOL.  I.  10 


1 1  o  ENGL ISH  ALLIA  NCR. 

The  ensuing  day,  the  festival  of  St.  James,  the 
patron  saint  of  Spain,  was  the  one  appointed  for  the 
marriage.  Philip  exchanged  his  usual  simple  dress  for 
the  bridal  vestments  provided  for  him  by  his  mistress. 
They  were  of  spotless  white,  as  the  reporter  is  careful 
to  inform  us,  satin  and  cloth  of  gold,  thickly  powdered 
with  pearls  and  precious  stones.  Round  his  neck  he 
wore  the  superb  collar  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  the 
famous  Burgundian  order ;  while  the  brilliant  riband 
below  his  knee  served  as  the  badge  of  the  no  less  illus 
trious  order  of  the  Garter.  He  went  on  foot  to  the 
cathedral,  attended  by  all  his  nobles,  vying  with  one 
another  in  the  ostentatious  splendor  of  their  retinues. 

Half  an  hour  elapsed  before  Philip  was  joined  by 
the  queen  at  the  entrance  of  the  Cathedral.  Mary 
was  surrounded  by  the  lords  and  ladies  of  her  court. 
Her  dress,  of  white  satin  and  cloth  of  gold,  like  his 
own,  was  studded  and  fringed  with  'diamonds  of  in 
estimable  price,  some  of  them,  doubtless,  the  gift  of 
Philip,  which  lie  had  sent  to  her  by  the  hands  of  the 
prince  of  Eboli,  soon  after  his  landing.  Her  bright- 
red  slippers  and  her  mantle  of  black  velvet  formed  a 
contrast  to  the  rest  of  her  apparel,  and,  for  a  bridal 
costume,  would  hardly  suit  the  taste  of  the  present 
day.  The  royal  party  then  moved  up  the  nave  of  the 
cathedral,  and  were  received  in  the  choir  by  the 
bishop  of  Winchester,  supported  by  the  great  prelates 
of  the  English  Church.  The  greatest  of  all,  Cranmer, 
the  primate  of  all  England,  who  should  have  per 
formed  the  ceremony,  was  absent, — in  disgrace  and 
a  prisoner. 

Philip   and    Mary   took    their   seats   under  a  royal 


MARRIAGE    OF  PHILIP  AND   MARY.         m 

canopy,  with  an  altar  between  them.  The  queen  was 
surrounded  by  the  ladies  of  her  court, — whose  beauty, 
says  an  Italian  writer,  acquired  additional  lustre  by 
contrast  with  the  shadowy  complexions  of  the  south.18 
The  aisles  and  spacious  galleries  were  crowded  with 
spectators  of  every  degree,  drawn  together  from  the 
most  distant  quarters  to  witness  the  ceremony. 

The  silence  was  broken  by  Figueroa,  one  of  the 
imperial  council,  who  read  aloud  an  instrument  of  the 
emperor,  Charles  the  Fifth.  It  stated  that  this  mar 
riage  had  been  of  his  own  seeking;  and  he  was  de 
sirous  that  his  beloved  son  should  enter  into  it  in  a 
manner  suitable  to  his  own  expectations  and  the  dig 
nity  of  his  illustrious  consort.  He  therefore  resigned 
to  him  his  entire  right  and  sovereignty  over  the  king 
dom  of  Naples  and  the  duchy  of  Milan.  The  rank 
of  the  parties  would  thus  be  equal,  and  Mary,  instead 
of  giving  her  hand  to  a  subject,  would  wed  a  sovereign 
like  herself. 

Some  embarrassment  occurred  as  to  the  person  who 
should  give  the  queen  away, — a  part  of  the  ceremony 
not  provided  for.  After  a  brief  conference,  it  was 
removed  by  the  marquis  of  Winchester  and  the  earls 
of  Pembroke  and  Derby,  who  took  it  on  themselves  to 
give  her  away  in  the  name  of  the  whole  realm  ;  at 
which  the  multitude  raised  a  shout  that  made  the  old 
walls  of  the  cathedral  ring  again.  The  marriage- 
service  was  then  concluded  by  the  bishop  of  Winches- 

18  "  Poco  dopo  comparve  ancora  la  Regina  pomposamente  vestita, 
rilucendo  da  tutte  le  parti  pretiosissime  gemme,  accompagnata  da 
tante  e  cosi  belle  Principesse,  che  pareva  ivi  ridotta  quasi  tutta  la 
bellezza  del  mondo,  onde  gli  Spagnoli  servivano  con  il  loro  Olivastro, 
tra  tanti  soli,  come  ombre."  Led,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  232. 


1 1 2  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

ter.  Philip  and  Mary  resumed  their  seats,  and  mass 
was  performed,  when  the  bridegroom,  rising,  gave  his 
consort  the  "kiss  of  peace,"  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  time.  The  whole  ceremony  occupied  nearly 
four  hours.  At  the  close  of  it,  Philip,  taking  Mary 
by  the  hand,  led  her  from  the  church.  The  royal 
couple  were  followed  by  the  long  train  of  prelates  and 
nobles,  and  were  preceded  by  the  earls  of  Pembroke 
and  Derby,  each  bearing  aloft  a  naked  sword,  the 
symbol  of  sovereignty.  The  effect  of  the  spectacle 
was  heightened  by  the  various  costumes  of  the  two 
nations, — the  richly-tinted  and  picturesque  dresses  of 
the  Spaniards,  and  the  solid  magnificence  of  the 
English  and  Flemings,  mingling  together  in  gay  con 
fusion.  The  glittering  procession  moved  slowly  on,  to 
the  blithe  sounds  of  festal  music,  while  the  air  was  rent 
with  the  loyal  acclamations  of  the  populace,  delighted, 
as  usual,  with  the  splendor  of  the  pageant. 

In  the  great  hall  of  the  episcopal  palace  a  sumptuous 
banquet  was  prepared  for  the  whole  company.  At  one 
end  of  the  apartment  was  a  dais,  on  which,  under  a 
superb  canopy,  a  table  was  set  for  the  king  and  queen ; 
and  a  third  seat  was  added  for  Bishop  Gardiner,  the 
only  one  of  the  great  lords  who  was  admitted  to  the 
distinction  of  dining  with  royalty. 

Below  the  dais,  the  tables  were  set  on  either  side 
through  the  whole  length  of  the  hall,  for  the  English 
and  Spanish  nobles,  all  arranged — a  perilous  point  of 
etiquette — with  due  regard  to  their  relative  rank.  The 
royal  table  was  covered  with  dishes  of  gold.  A  spa 
cious  beaufet,  rising  to  the  height  of  eight  stages,  or 
shelves,  and  filled  with  a  profusion  of  gold  and  silver 


ROYAL   ENTERTAINMENTS.  1x3 

vessels,  somewhat  ostentatiously  displayed  the  magnifi 
cence  of  the  prelate,  or  of  his  sovereign.  Yet  this 
ostentation  was  rather  Spanish  than  English,  and  was 
one  of  the  forms  in  which  the  Castilian  grandee  loved 
to  display  his  opulence.19 

At  the  bottom  of  the  hall  was  an  orchestra,  occupied 
by  a  band  of  excellent  performers,  who  enlivened  the 
repast  by  their  music.  But  the  most  interesting  part 
of  the  show  was  that  of  the  Winchester  boys,  some  of 
whom  were  permitted  to  enter  the  presence  and  recite 
in  Latin  their  epithalamiums  in  honor  of  the  royal 
nuptials,  for  which  they  received  a  handsome  guerdon 
from  the  queen. 

After  the  banquet  came  the  ball,  at  which,  if  we  are 
to  take  an  old  English  authority,  "  the  Spaniards  were 
greatly  out  of  countenance  when  they  saw  the  English 
so  far  excel  them."20  This  seems  somewhat  strange, 
considering  that  dancing  is,  and  always  has  been,  the 
national  pastime  of  Spain.  Dancing  is  to  the  Spaniard 
what  music  is  to  the  Italian, — the  very  condition  of 
his  social  existence.21  It  did  not  continue  late  on  the 

J9  The  sideboard  of  the  duke  of  Albuquerque,  who  died  about  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  mounted  by  forty  silver  ladders ! 
And,  when  he  died,  six  weeks  were  occupied  in  making  out  the  in 
ventory  of  the  gold  and  silver  vessels.  See  Dunlop's  Memoirs  of 
Spain  during  the  Reigns  of  Philip  IV.  and  Charles  II.  (Edinburgh, 
1834),  vol.  i.  p.  384. 

30  Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  iii.  p.  130. 

21  Some  interesting  particulars  respecting  the  ancient  national  dances 
of  the  Peninsula  are  given  by  Ticknor,  in  his  History  of  Spanish  Litera 
ture  (New  York,  1849),  vol.  ii.  pp.  445-448 ;  a  writer  who,  under  the 
title  of  a  History  of  Literature,  has  thrown  a  flood  of  light  on  the 
social  and  political  institutions  of  the  nation,  whose  character  he  has 
evidently  studied  under  all  its  aspects. 


II4  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

present  occasion,  and  at  the  temperate  hour  of  nine 
the  bridal  festivities  closed  for  the  evening.22 

Philip  and  Mary  passed  a  few  days  in  this  merry  way 
of  life  at  Winchester,  whence  they  removed,  with  their 
court,  to  Windsor.  Here  a  chapter  of  the  order  of 
the  Garter  was  held,  for  the  purpose  of  installing  King 
Philip.  The  herald,  on  this  occasion,  ventured  to  take 
down  the  arms  of  England  and  substitute  those  of 
Spain,  in  honor  of  the  new  sovereign, — an  act  of 
deference  which  roused  the  indignation  of  the  English 
lords,  who  straightway  compelled  the  functionary  to 
restore  the  national  escutcheon  to  its  proper  place.23 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  August,  Philip  and  Mary 
made  their  public  entry  into  London.  They  rode  in 
on  horseback,  passing  through  the  borough  of  Sotith- 
wark,  across  London  Bridge.  Every  preparation  was 

512  "  Relation  of  what  passed  at  the  Celebration  of  the  Marriage  of 
our  Prince  with  the  Most  Serene  Queen  of  England," — from  the 
original  at  Louvain,  ap.  Tytler,  Edward  VI.  and  Mary,  vol.  ii.  p. 
430. — Salazar  de  Mendoza,  Monarquia  de  Espana,  torn.  ii.  p.  117. — 
Sandoval,  Historia  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  560-563. — Leti,  Vita  di 
Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  pp.  231-233. — Sepulvedae  Opera,  vol.  ii.  p.  500. — 
Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  i.  cap.  5.— Memorial  de  Voyages,  MS. — 
Miss  Strickland,  Lives  of  the  Queens  of  England,  vol.  v.  pp.  389-396. 
— To  the  last  writer  I  am  especially  indebted  for  several  particulars 
in  the  account  of  processions  and  pageants  which  occupies  the  pre 
ceding  pages.  Her  information  is  chiefly  derived  from  two  works, 
neither  of  which  is  in  my  possession, — the  Book  of  Precedents  of 
Ralph  Brook,  York  herald,  and  the  narrative  of  an  Italian,  Baonrdo; 
an  eye-witness  of  the  scenes  he  describes.  Miss  Strickland's  interest 
ing  volumes  are  particularly  valuable  to  the  historian  for  the  copious 
extracts  they  contain  from  curious  unpublished  documents,  which  had 
escaped  the  notice  of  writers  too  exclusively  occupied  with  political 
events  to  give  much  heed  to  details  of  a  domestic  and  personal 
nature. 

23  Holinshed,  vol.  iv.  p.  62. 


ROYAL   ENTERTAINMENTS.  115 

made  by  the  loyal  citizens  to  give  them  a  suitable 
reception.  The  columns  of  the  buildings  were  fes 
tooned  with  flowers,  triumphal  arches  spanned  the 
streets,  the  walls  were  hung  with  pictures  or  emblaz 
oned  with  legends  in  commemoration  of  the  illustrious 
pair,  and  a  genealogy  was  traced  for  Philip,  setting 
forth  his  descent  from  John  of  Gaunt, — making  him 
out,  in  short,  as  much  of  an  Englishman  as  possible. 

Among  the  paintings  was  one  in  which  Henry  the 
Eighth  was  seen  holding  in  his  hand  a  Bible.  This 
device  gave  great  scandal  to  the  chancellor,  Gardiner, 
who  called  the  painter  sundry  hard  names,  rating  him 
roundly  for  putting  into  King  Harry's  hand  the  sacred 
volume,  which  should  rather  have  been  given  to  his 
daughter,  Queen  Mary,  for  her  zeal  to  restore  the 
primitive  worship  of  the  Church.  The  unlucky  artist 
lost  no  time  in  repairing  his  error  by  brushing  out  the 
offending  volume,  and  did  it  so  effectually  that  he 
brushed  out  the  royal  fingers  with  it,  leaving  the  old 
monarch's  mutilated  stump  held  up,  like  some  poor 
mendicant's,  to  excite  the  compassion  of  the  spec 
tators.24 

But  the  sight  which  more  than  all  these  pageants 
gave  joy  to  the  hearts  of  the  Londoners  was  an  im 
mense  quantity  of  bullion,  which  Philip  caused  to  be 
paraded  through  the  city  on  its  way  to  the  Tower, 
where  it  was  deposited  in  the  royal  treasury.  The 
quantity  was  said  to  be  so  great  that  on  one  occasion 
the  chests  containing  it  filled  twenty  carts.  On  an 
other,  two  wagons  were  so  heavily  laden  with  the 
precious  metal  as  to  require  to  be  drawn  by  nearly  a 

24  Holinshed,  vol.  iv.  p.  63. 


n6  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

hundred  horses.25  The  good  people,  who  had  looked 
to  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards  as  that  of  a  swarm  of 
locusts  Avhich  was  to  consume  their  substance,  were 
greatly  pleased  to  see  their  exhausted  coffers  so  well 
replenished  from  the  American  mines. 

From  London  the  royal  pair  proceeded  to  the  shady 
solitudes  of  Hampton  Court,  and  Philip,  weary  of  the 
mummeries  in  which  he  had  been  compelled  to  take 
part,  availed  himself  of  the  indisposition  of  his  wife 
to  indulge  in  that  retirement  and  repose  which  were 
more  congenial  to  his  taste.  This  way  of  life  in  his 
pleasant  retreat,  however,  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
so  well  suited  to  the  taste  of  his  English  subjects.  At 
least,  an  old  chronicler  peevishly  complains  that  "  the 
hall-door  within  the  court  was  continually  shut,  so  that 
no  man  might  enter  unless  his  errand  were  first  known ; 
which  seemed  strange  to  Englishmen  that  had  not  been 
used  thereto. ' ' a6 

Yet  Philip,  although  his  apprehensions  for  his  safety 
had  doubtless  subsided,  was  wise  enough  to  affect  the 
same  conciliatory  manners  as  on  his  first  landing, — 
and  not  altogether  in  vain.  "He  discovered,"  says 
the  Venetian  ambassador,  in  his  report  to  the  senate, 
"none  of  that  sosiego — the  haughty  indifference  of 
the  Spaniards — which  distinguished  him  when  he  first 

*s  The  Spaniards  must  have  been  quite  as  much  astonished  as  the 
English  at  the  sight  of  such  an  amount  of  gold  and  silver  in  the  coffers 
of  their  king, — a  sight  that  rarely  rejoiced  the  eyes  of  either  Charles  or 
Philip,  though  lords  of  the  Indies.  A  hundred  horses  might  well  have 
drawn  as  many  tons  of  gold  and  silver, — an  amount,  considering  the 
value  of  money  in  that  day,  that  taxes  our  faith  somewhat  heavily,  and 
not  the  less  that  only  two  wagons  were  employed  to  carry  it. 

36  Holinshed,  ubi  supra. 


PHILIPS  INFLUENCE.  117 

left  home  for  Italy  and  Flanders.37  He  was,  indeed, 
as  accessible  as  any  one  could  desire,  and  gave  patient 
audience  to  all  who  asked  it.  He  was  solicitous," 
continues  Micheli,  "to  instruct  himself  in  affairs,  and 
showed  a  taste  for  application  to  business," — which,  it 
may  be  added,  grew  stronger  with  years.  "  He  spoke 
little,  but  his  remarks,  though  brief,  were  pertinent. 
In  short,"  he  concludes,  "he  is  a  prince  of  an  excel 
lent  genius,  a  lively  apprehension,  and  a  judgment  ripe 
beyond  his  age." 

Philip's  love  of  business,  however,  was  not  such  as 
to  lead  him  to  take  part  prematurely  in  the  manage 
ment  of  affairs.  He  discreetly  left  this  to  the  queen 
and  her  ministers,  to  whose  judgment  he  affected  to 
pay  the  greatest  deference.  H£  particularly  avoided 
all  appearance  of  an  attempt  to  interfere  with  the 
administration  of  justice,  unless  it  were  to  ob'tain  some 
act  of  grace.  Such  interference  only  served  to  gain 
him  the  more  credit  with  the  people.28 

27  Relatione  di  Gio.  Micheli,  MS.— Michele  Soriano,  who  repre 
sented  Venice  at  Madrid,  in  1559,  bears  similar  testimony,  in  still 
stronger  language,  to  Philip's  altered  deportment  while  in  England: 
"  Essendo  awertito  prima  dal  Cardinale  di  Trento,  poi  dalla  Regina 
Maria,  et  con  piu   efficaccia  dal  padre,  che  quella  riputatione  et 
severita  non  si  conveniva  a  lui,  che  dovea  dominar  nation!  varie  et 
popoli  di  costumi  diversi,  si  mut6  in  modo  che  passando  1"  altra  volta 
di  Spagna  per  andar  in  Inghilterra,  ha  mostrato  sempre  una  dolcetza 
et  humanita  cosi  grande  che  non  e  superato  da  Prencipe  alcuno  in 
questa  parte,  et  benche  servi  in  tutte  le  attioni  sue  riputatione  et 
gravitk  regie  alle  quali  e  per  natura  inclinato  et  per  costume,  non  e 
per6  manco  grato,  anzi  fanno  parere  la  cortesia  maggiore  che  S.  M. 
usa  con  tutti."     Relatione  di  Michele  Soriano,  MS. 

28  "  Lasciando  1'  essecutione  delle  cose  di  giustitia  alia  Regina,  et  a 
i  Ministri  quand'  occorre  di  condannare  alcuno,  o  nella  robba,  o  nella 
vita,  per  poter  poi  usarli  impetrando,  come  fa,  le  gratie,  et  le  mercedi 


Ii8  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

That  he  gained  largely  on  their  good  will  may  be 
inferred  from  the  casual  remarks  of  more  than  one 
contemporary  writer.  They  bear  emphatic  testimony 
to  the  affability  of  his  manners,  so  little  to  have  been 
expected  from  the  popular  reports  of  his  character. 
"Among  other  things,"  writes  Wotton,  the  English 
minister  at  the  French  court,  "one  I  have  been  right 
glad  to  hear  of  is,  that  the  king's  highness  useth  him 
self  so  gently  and  lovingly  to  all  men.  For,  to  tell 
you  truth,  I  have  heard  some  say,  that,  when  he  came 
out  of  Spain  into  Italy,  it  was  by  some  men  wished  that 
he  had  showed  a  somewhat  more  benign  countenance 
to  the  people  than  it  was  said  he  then  did."  ^  Another 
contemporary,  in  a  private  letter,  written  soon  after  the 
king's  entrance  into  London,  after  describing  his  person 
as  "so  well  proportioned  that  Nature  cannot  work  a 
more  perfect  pattern,"  concludes  with  commending 
him  for  his  "  pregnant  wit  and  most  gentle  nature."30 

Philip,  from  the  hour  of  his  landing,  had  been  con 
stant  in  all  his  religious  observances.  "Hew-as  as 
punctual,"  says  Micheli,  "in  his  attendance  at  mass, 
and  his  observance  of  all  the  forms  of  devotion,  as  any 
monk, — more  so,  as  some  people  thought,  than  became 
his  age  and  station.  The  ecclesiastics,"  he  adds,  "with 
whom  Philip  had  constant  intercourse,  talk  loudly  of 
his  piety."31 

tiitte :  le  quai  cose  fanno,  che  quanto  alia  persona  sua,  non  solo  sia 
ben  voluto,  et  amato  da  ciascuno,  ma  anco  desiderato."  Relatione  di 
Gio.  Micheli,  MS. 

*9  Letter  of  Nicholas  Wotton  to  Sir  William  Petre,  MS. 

3°  See  the  Remarks  of  John  Elder,  ap.  Tytler,  Edward  VI.  and 
Mary,  vol.  ii.  p.  258. 

3*  "  Nella  religione,  .  .  .  per  quel  che  dall'  esterior  si  vede,  non  si 


PHILIP'S  INFLUENCE.  ng 

Yet  there  was  no  hypocrisy  in  this.  However  willing 
Philip  may  have  been  that  his  concern  for  the  interests 
of  religion  might  be  seen  of  men,  it  is  no  less  true 
that,  as  far  as  he  understood  these  interests,  his  concern 
was  perfectly  sincere.  The  actual  state  of  England 
may  have  even  operated  as  an  inducement  with  him  to 
overcome  his  scruples  as  to  the  connection  with  Mary. 
"Better  not  reign  at  all,"  he  often  remarked,  "than 
reign  over  heretics."  But  what  triumph  more  glorious 
than  that  of  converting  these  heretics  and  bringing 
them  back  again  to  the  bosom  of  the  Church?  He 
was  most  anxious  to  prepare  the  minds  of  his  new 
subjects  for  an  honorable  reception  of  the  papal  legate, 
Cardinal  Pole,  who  was  armed  with  full  authority  to 
receive  the  submission  of  England  to  the  Holy  See. 
He  employed  his  personal  influence  with  the  great 
nobles,  and  enforced  it  occasionally  by  liberal  drafts 
on  those  Peruvian  ingots  which  he  had  sent  to  the 
Tower.  At  least,  it  is  asserted  that  he  gave  away  yearly 
pensions,  to  the  large  amount  of  between  fifty  and  sixty 
thousand  gold  crowns,  to  sundry  of  the  queen's  min 
isters.  It  was  done  on  the  general  plea  of  recompensing 
their  loyalty  to  their  mistress.32 

Early  in  November,  tidings  arrived  of  the  landing 
of  Pole.  He  had  been  detained  some  weeks  in  Ger- 

potria  giudicar  meglio,  et  piu  assiduo,  et  attentissimo  alle  Messe,  a  i 
Vesperi.  et  alle  Prediche,  come  un  religioso,  molto  piu  che  a  lo  stato, 
et  eta  sua,  a  molte  pare  che  si  convenga.  II  medisimo  conferiscono 
dell'  intrinseco  oltra  certi  frati  Theologi  suoi  predicated  huomini 
certo  di  stima,  et  anco  altri  che  ogni  di  trattano  con  lui,  che  nelle  cose 
della  conscientia  non  desiderano  ne  piu  pia,  ne  miglior  intentione." 
Relatione  di  Gio.  Micheli,  MS. 
33  Ibid. 


120  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

many  by  the  emperor,  who  felt  some  distrust — not  ill 
founded,  as  it  seems — of  the  cardinal's  disposition  in 
regard  to  the  Spanish  match.  Now  that  this  difficulty 
was  obviated,  he  was  allowed  to  resume  his  journey. 
He  came  up  the  Thames  in  a  magnificent  barge,  with  a 
large  silver  cross,  the  emblem  of  his  legatine  authority, 
displayed  on  the  prow.  The  legate,  on  landing,  was 
received  by  the  king,  the  queen,  and  the  whole  court, 
with  a  reverential  deference  which  augured  well  for  the 
success  of  his  mission. 

He  was  the  man,  of  all  others,  best  qualified  to  ex 
ecute  it.  To  a  natural  kindness  of  temper  he  united 
an  urbanity  and  a  refinement  of  manners  derived  from 
familiar  intercourse  with  the  most  polished  society  of 
Europe.  His  royal  descent  entitled  him  to  mix  on 
terms  of  equality  with  persons  of  the  highest  rank, 
and  made  him  feel  as  much  at  ease  in  the  court  as  in 
the  cloister.  His  long  exile  had  opened  to  him  an 
acquaintance  with  man  as  he  is  found  in  various 
climes,  while,  as  a  native-born  Englishman,  he  per 
fectly  understood  the  prejudices  and  peculiar  temper 
of  his  own  countrymen.  "Cardinal  Pole,"  says  the 
Venetian  minister,  "is  a  man  of  unblemished  nobility, 
and  so  strict  in  his  integrity  that  he  grants  nothing  to 
the  importunity  of  friends.  He  is  so  much  beloved, 
both  by  prince  and  people,  that  he  may  well  be  styled 
the  king  where  all  is  done  by  his  authority."33  An 

33  Relatione  di  Gio.  Micheli,  MS. — Mason,  the  English  minister  at 
the  imperial  court,  who  had  had  much  intercourse  with  Pole,  speaks 
of  him  in  terms  of  unqualified  admiration :  "  Such  a  one  as,  for  his 
wisdom,  joined  with  learning,  virtue,  and  godliness,  all  the  world 
seeketh  and  adoreth.  In  whom  it  is  to  be  thought  that  God  hath 
chosen  a  special  place  of  habitation.  Such  is  his  conversation  adorned 


THE    CATHOLIC  CHURCH  RESTORED.       121 

English  cardinal  was  not  of  too  frequent  occurrence  in 
the  Sacred  College.  That  one  should  have  been  found 
at  the  present  juncture,  with  personal  qualities,  more 
over,  so  well  suited  to  the  delicate  mission  to  England, 
was  a  coincidence  so  remarkable  that  Philip  and  Mary 
might  well  be  excused  for  discerning  in  it  the  finger  of 
Providence. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  the  month,  parliament,  owing 
to  the  queen's  indisposition,  met  at  Whitehall,  and 
Pole  made  that  celebrated  speech  in  which  he  re 
capitulated  some  of  the  leading  events  of  his  own  life, 
and  the  persecutions  he  had  endured  for  conscience' 
sake.  He  reviewed  the  changes  in  religion  which  had 
taken  place  in  England,  and  implored  his  audience  to 
abjure  their  spiritual  errors  and  to  seek  a  reconcilia 
tion  with  the  Catholic  Church.  He  assured  them  of 
his  plenary  power  to  grant  absolution  for  the  past,  and 
— what  was  no  less  important — to  authorize  the  pres 
ent  proprietors  to  retain  possession  of  the  abbey  lands 
which  had  been  confiscated  under  King  Henry.  This 
last  concession,  which  had  been  extorted  with  diffi 
culty  from  the  pope,  reconciling,  as  it  did,  temporal 
with  spiritual  interests,  seems  to  have  dispelled  what 
ever  scruples  yet  lingered  in  the  breasts  of  the  legis 
lature.  There  were  few,  probably,  in  that  goodly 
company  whose  zeal  would  have  aspired  to  the  crown 
of  martyrdom. 

with  infinite  godly  qualities,  above  the  ordinary  sort  of  men.  And 
whosoever  within  the  realm  liketh  him  worst,  I  would  he  might  have 
with  him  the  talk  of  one  half-hour.  It  were,  a  right  stony  heart 
that  in  a  small  time  he  could  not  soften."  Letter  of  Sir  John  Mason 
to  the  Queen,  MS. 

Philip. — VOL.  I. — F  n 


122  EXGL1SH  ALLIANCE. 

The  ensuing  day,  parliament,  in  obedience  to  the 
royal  summons,  again  assembled  at  Whitehall.  Philip 
took  his  seat  on  the  left  of  Mary,  under  the  same 
canopy,  while  Cardinal  Pole  sat  at  a  greater  distance 
on  her  right.34  The  chancellor,  Gardiner,  then  pre 
sented  a.  petition  in  the  name  of  the  lords  and  com 
mons,  praying  for  reconciliation  with  the  papal  see. 
Absolution  was  solemnly  pronounced  by  the  legate, 
and  the  whole  assembly  received  his  benediction  on 
their  bended  knees.  England,  purified  from  her 
heresy,  was  once  more  restored  to  the  communion  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

Philip  instantly  despatched  couriers  with  the  glad 
tidings  to  Rome,  Brussels,  and  other  capitals  of  Chris 
tendom.  Everywhere  the  event  was  celebrated  with 
public  rejoicings,  as  if  it  had  been  some  great  victory 
over  the  Saracens.  As  Philip's  zeal  for  the  faith  was 
well  known,  and  as  the  great  change  had  taken  place 
soon  after  his  arrival  in  England,  much  of  the  credit 
of  it  was  ascribed  to  him.35  Thus,  before  ascending 
the  throne  of  Spain  he  had  vindicated  his  claim  to  the 

34  If  we  are  to  credit  Cabrera,  Philip  not  only  took  his  seat  in  par 
liament,  but  on  one  occasion,  the  better  to  conciliate  the  good  will  of 
the  legislature  to  the  legate,  delivered  a  speech,  which  the  historian 
gives  in  extenso.     If  he  ever  made  the  speech,  it  could  have  been 
understood  only  by  a  miracle.      For  Philip  could  not  speak  English, 
and  of  his  audience  not  one  in  a  hundred,  probably,  could  understand 
Spanish.      But  to  the  Castilian  historian  the  occasion  might  seem 
worthy  of  a  miracle, — dignus  vindice  nodus. 

35  "  Obraron  de  suerte  Don  Felipe  con  prudencia,  agrado,  honras,  y 
mercedes,  y  su  familia  con   la  cortesia  natural  de   Espana,  que  se 
reduxo  Inglaterra  toda  a  la  obediencia  de  la  Iglesia  Catolica  Romana, 
y  se  abjuraron  los  errores  y  heregias  que  corrian  en  aquel  Reyno," 
says  Vanderhammen,  Felipe  el  Prudente,  p.  4. 


THE   CATHOLIC  CHURCH  RESTORED.       123 

title  of  Catholic,  so  much  prized  by  the  Spanish  mon- 
archs.  He  had  won  a  triumph  greater  than  that  which 
his  father  had  been  able  to  win,  after  years  of  war, 
over  the  Protestants  of  Germany ;  greater  than  any 
which  had  been  won  by  the  arms  of  Cortes  or  Pizarro 
in  the  New  World.  Their  contest  had  been  with  the 
barbarian  ;  the  field  of  Philip's  labors  was  one  of  the 
most  potent  and  civilized  countries  of  Europe. 

The  work  of  conversion  was  speedily  followed  by 
that  of  persecution.  To  what  extent  Philip's  influence 
was  exerted  in  this  is  not  manifest.  Indeed,  from  any 
thing  that  appears,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  decide 
whether  his  influence  was  employed  to  promote  or 
to  prevent  it.  One  fact  is  certain,  that,  immediately 
after  the  first  martyrs  suffered  at  Smithfield,  Alfonso 
de  Castro,  a  Spanish  friar,  preached  a  sermon  in  which 
he  bitterly  inveighed  against  these  proceedings.  He 
denounced  them  as  repugnant  to  the  true  spirit  of 
Christianity,  which  was  that  of  charity  and  forgive 
ness,  and  which  enjoined  its  ministers  not  to  take 
vengeance  on  the  sinner,  but  to  enlighten  him  as  to 
his  errors  and  bring  him  to  repentance.36  This  bold 
appeal  had  its  effect,  even  in  that  season  of  excitement. 
For  a  few  weeks  the  arm  of  persecution  seemed  to  be 
palsied.  But  it  was  only  for  a  few  weeks.  Toleration 
was  not  the  virtue  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
charitable  doctrines  of  the  good  friar  fell  on  hearts 
withered  by  fanaticism ;  and  the  spirit  of  intolerance 
soon  rekindled  the  fires  of  Smithfield  into  a  fiercer 
glow  than  before. 

Yet    men    wondered    at   the    source   whence    these 

a6  Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  iii.  p.  209. 


124  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

strange  doctrines  had  proceeded.  The  friar  was 
Philip's  confessor.  It  was  argued  that  he  would  not 
have  dared  to  speak  thus  boldly  had  it  not  been  by 
the  command  of  Philip,  or  at  least  by  his  consent. 
That  De  Castro  should  have  thus  acted  at  the  sugges 
tion  of  his  master  is  contradicted  by  the  whole  tenor 
of  Philip's  life.  Hardly  four  years  elapsed  before  he 
countenanced  by  his  presence  an  atito  de  fe  in  Valla- 
dolid,  where  fourteen  persons  perished  at  the  stake ; 
and  the  burning  of  heretics  in  England  could  have 
done  no  greater  violence  to  his  feelings  than  the  burn 
ing  of  heretics  in  Spain.  If  the  friar  did  indeed  act 
in  obedience  to  Philip,  we  may  well  suspect  that  the 
latter  was  influenced  less  by  motives  of  humanity  than 
of  policy,  and  that  the  disgust  manifested  by  the 
people  at  the  spectacle  of  these  executions  may  have 
led  him  to  employ  this  expedient  to  relieve  himself  of 
any  share  in  the  odium  which  attached  to  them.37 

What  was  the  real  amount  of  Philip's  influence,  in 
this  or  other  matters,  it  is  not  possible  to  determine. 
It  is  clear  that  he  was  careful  not  to  arouse  the  jealousy 
of  the  English  by  any  parade  of  it.38  One  obvious 

37  Philip,  in  a  letter  to  the  Regent  Joanna,  dated  Brussels,  1557, 
seems  to  claim  for  himself  the  merit  of  having  extirpated  heresy  in 
England  by  the  destruction  of  the  heretics  :   "  Aviendo  apartado  deste 
Reyno  las  sectas,  i  reduzidole  a  la  obediencia  de  la  Iglesia,  i  aviendo 
ido  sempre  en  acrecentamiento  con  el  castigo  de  los  Ereges  tan  sin 
contracliciones  como  se  haze  en  Inglaterra."   (Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo, 
lib.  ii.  cap.  6.)    The  emperor,  in  a  letter  from  Yuste,  endorses  this  claim 
of  his  son  to  the  full  extent :    "  Pues  en  Ynglaterra  se  han  hecho  y 
hacen  tantas  y  tan  crudas  justicias  hasta  obispos,  por  la  orden  que  alii 
ha  dado,  como  si  fuera  su  Rev  natural,  y  se  lo  permiten."     Carta  del 
Emperador  d  la  Princesa,  Mayo  25,  1558,  MS. 

38  Micheli,  whose  testimony  is  of  the  more  value  as  he  was  known 


PHILIP'S  INFLUENCE. 


125 


channel  of  it  lay  in  the  queen,  who  seems  to  have 
doted  on  him  with  a  fondness  that  one  would  hardly 
have  thought  a  temper  cold  and  repulsive,  like  that 
of  Philip,  capable  of  exciting.  But  he  was  young  and 
good-looking.  His  manners  had  always  been  found  to 
please  the  sex,  even  where  he  had  not  been  so  solicitous 
to  please  as  he  was  in  England.  He  was  Mary's  first 
and  only  love ;  for  the  emperor  was  too  old  to  have 
touched  aught  but  her  vanity,  and  Courtenay  was  too 
frivolous  to  have  excited  any  other  than  a  temporary 
feeling.  This  devotion  to  Philip,  according  to  some 
accounts,  was  ill  requited  by  his  gallantries.  The  Ve 
netian  ambassador  says  of  him  that  "he  well  deserved 
the  tenderness  of  his  wife,  for  he  was  the  most  loving 
and  the  best  of  husbands."  But  it  seems  probable  that 
the  Italian,  in  his  estimate  of  the  best  of  husbands, 
adopted  the  liberal  standard  of  his  own  country.39 
About  the  middle  of  November,  parliament  was 

to  have  joined  Noailles  in  his  opposition  to  the  Spanish  match,  tells  us 
that  Philip  was  scrupulous  in  his  observance  of  every  article  of  the 
marriage-treaty :  "  Che  non  havendo  alterato  cosa  alcuna  dello  stile, 
et  forma  del  governo,  non  essendo  uscito  un  pelo  della  capitolatione  del 
matrimonio,  ha  in  tutto  tolta  via  quella  paura  che  da  principio  fu  gran- 
dissima,  che  egli  non  volesse  con  imperio,  et  con  la  potentia,  disporre  et 
comandare  delle  cose  d  modo  suo."  Relatione  di  Gio.  Micheli,  MS. 
39  "  D'amor  nasce  1'esser  inamorata  come  e  et  giustamente  del  ma- 
rito  per  quel  che  s'  ha  potuto  conoscer  nel  tempo  che  e  stata  seco  dalla 
natura  et  modi  suoi,  certo  da  innamorar  ognuno,  non  che  chi  havesse 
havuto  la  buona  compagnia  et  il  buon  trattamento  ch'  ell'  ha  havuto. 
Tale  in  verita  che  nessun"  altro  potrebbe  essergli  stato  n£  migliore  ne 
piu  amorevol  marito.  .  .  .  Se  appresso  al  martello  s'  aggiungesse  la 
gelosia,  della  qual  fin  hora  non  si  sa  che  patisca,  perche  se  non  ha  il 
Re  per  casto,  almanco  dice  ella  -so  che  e  libero  dell'  amor  d*  altra 
donna;  se  fosse  dico  gelosa,  sarebbe  veramente  misera."  Relatione 
di  Gio.  Micheli,  MS. 

II* 


126  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

advised  that  the  queen  was  in  a  state  of  pregnancy. 
The  intelligence  was  received  with  the  joy  usually 
manifested  by  loyal  subjects  on  like  occasions.  The 
emperor  seems  to  have  been  particularly  pleased  with 
this  prospect  of  an  heir,  who,  by  the  terms  of  the 
marriage-treaty,  would  make  a  division  of  that  great 
empire  which  it  had  been  the  object  of  its  master's 
life  to  build  up  and  consolidate  under  one  sceptre. 
The  commons,  soon  after,  passed  an  act  empowering 
Philip,  in  case  it  should  go  otherwise  than  well  with 
the  queen  at  the  time  of  her  confinement,  to  assume 
the  regency  and  take  charge  of  the  education  of  her 
child  during  its  minority.  The  regency  was  to  be 
limited  by  the  provisions  of  the  marriage-treaty ;  but 
the  act  maybe  deemed  evidence  that  Philip  had  gained 
on  the  confidence  of  his  new  subjects. 

The  symptoms  continued  to  be  favorable ;  and,  as 
the  time  approached  for  Mary's  confinement,  messen 
gers  were  held  in  readiness  to  bear  the  tidings  to  the 
different  courts.  The  loyal  wishes  of  the  people  ran 
so  far  ahead  of  reality  that  a  rumor  went  abroad  of 
the  actual  birth  of  a  prince.  Bells  were  rung,  bonfires 
lighted  ;  Te  Deum  was  sung  in  some  of  the  churches  ; 
and  one  of  the  preachers  "took  upon  him  to  describe 
the  proportions  of  the  child,  how  fair,  how  beautiful 
and  great  a  prince  it  was,  as  the  like  had  not  been  seen  !" 
"But  for  all  this  great  labor,"  says  the  caustic  chron 
icler,  "  for  their  yoong  maister  long  looked  for  coming 
so  surely  into  the  world,  in  the  end  appeared  neither 
yoong  maister  nor  yoong  maistress,  that  any  man  to 
this  day  can  hear  of."  ^ 

v  Holinshed,  vol.  iv.  pp.  70,  82. 


PHILIP'S  INFLUENCE.  127 

The  queen's  disorder  proved  to  be  a  dropsy.  But, 
notwithstanding  the  mortifying  results  of  so  many 
prognostics  and  preparations,  and  the  ridicule  which 
attached  to  it,  Mary  still  cherished  the  illusion  of  one 
day  giving  an  heir  to  the  crown.  Her  husband  did 
Inot  share  in  this  illusion ;  and,  as  he  became  convinced 
that  she  had  no  longer  prospect  of  issue,  he  found  less 
inducement  to  protract  his  residence  in  a  country 
which,  on  many  accounts,  was  most  distasteful  to  him. 
Whatever  show  of  deference  might  be  paid  to  him,  his 
haughty  spirit  could  not  be  pleased  by  the  subordinate 
part  which  he  was  compelled  to  play,  in  public,  to  the 
queen.  The  parliament  had  never  so  far  acceded  to 
Mary's  wishes  as  to  consent  to  his  coronation  as  king 
of  England.  Whatever  weight  he  may  have  had  in 
the  cabinet,  it  had  not  been  such  as  to  enable  him  to 
make  the  politics  of  England  subservient  to  his  own 
interests,  or,  what  was  the  same  thing,  to  those  of  his 
father.  Parliament  would  not  consent  to  swerve  so 
far  from  the  express  provisions  of  the  marriage -treaty 
as  to  become  a  party  in  the  emperor's  contest  with 
France.41 

Nor  could  the  restraint  constantly  imposed  on  Philip 

4*  Soriano  notices  the  little  authority  that  Philip  seemed  to  possess 
in  England,  and  the  disgust  which  it  occasioned  both  to  him  and  his 
father:  "  L'Imperatore,  che  dissegnava  sempre  cose  grandi,  pens6 
potersi  acquistare  il  regno  con  occasione  di  matrimonio  di  quella  re- 
gina  col  figiiuolo ;  ma  non  gli  successe  quel  che  desiderava,  perche 
questo  Re  trovo  tant'  impediment!  et  tante  difficolta  che  mi  ricordo 
havere  inteso  da  un  personaggio  che  S.  Mta-  si  trovava  ogni  giorno  piii 
mo.1  contenta  d'  haver  atteso  a  quella  prattica,  perche  non  haver  nel 
regno  ne  autorita  ne  obedienza,  ne  pure  la  corona,  ma  solo  un  certo 
nome  che  serviva  phi  in  apparenza  che  in  effetto."  Relatione  di  Mi- 
chele  Soriano,  MS. 


128  ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 

by  his  desire  to  accommodate  himself  to  the  tastes  and 
habits  of  the  English  be  otherwise  than  irksome  to 
him.  If  he  had  been  more  successful  in  this  than 
might  have  been  expected,  yet  it  was  not  possible  to 
overcome  the  prejudices,  the  settled  antipathy,  with 
which  the  Spaniards  were  regarded  by  the  great  mass 
of  the  people,  as  was  evident  from  the  satirical  shafts 
which  from  time  to  time  were  launched  by  pamphlet 
eers  and  ballad-makers  both  against  the  king  and  his 
followers. 

These  latter  were  even  more  impatient  than  their 
master  of  their  stay  in  a  country  where  they  met  with 
so  many  subjects  of  annoyance.  If  a  Spaniard  bought 
any  thing,  complains  one  of  the  nation,  he  was  sure  to 
be  charged  an  exorbitant  price  for  it.42  If  he  had  a 
quarrel  with  an  Englishman,  says  another  writer,  he 
was  to  be  tried  by  English  law,  and  was  very  certain  to 
come  off  the  worst.43  Whether  right  or  wrong,  the 
Spaniards  could  hardly  fail  to  find  abundant  cause  of 
irritation  and  disgust.  The  two  nations  were  too  dis 
similar  for  either  of  them  to  comprehend  the  other. 

42  "  Hispani  parum  humane  parumque  hospitaliter  a  Britannis  trac- 
tabantur,  ita  ut  res  necessarias  longe  carius  communi  pretio  emere 
cogerentur."     Sepulvedce  Opera,  vol.  ii.  p.  501. 

43  "  Quando  occorre  disparere  tra  un  Inglese  et  alcun  di  questi,  la 
giustitia  non  precede  in  quel  modo  che  dovria.  .  .  .  Son  tanti  le  cavil- 
lationi,  le  lunghezze,  et  le  spese  senza  fine  di  quei  lor"  giuditii,  che  al 
torto,  o  al  diritto,  conviene  ch*  ii  forestiero  soccumba;   ne  bisogna 
pensar  che  mai  si  sottomettessero  1'  Inglesi  come  1'  altre  nation!  ad  uno 
che  chiamano  1'  Alcalde  della  Corte,  spagnuole  di  natione,  che  pro- 
cede  sommariamente  contra  ogn'  uno,  per  vie  perd  et  termini  Spa- 
gnuoli;  havendo  gl'  Inglesi  la  lor  legge,  dalla  quale  non  solo  non  si 
partiriano,  ma  vogliano  obligar  a  quella  tutti  gl1  altre."     Relatione  di 
Gio.  Micheli.  MS. 


PHILIP'S  DEPARTURE.  129 

It  was  with  no  little  satisfaction,  therefore,  that  Philip's 
followers  learned  that  their  master  had  received  a  sum 
mons  from  his  rather  to  leave  England  and  join  him  in 
Flanders. 

The  cause  of  this  sudden  movement  was  one  that 
filled  the  Castilians,  as  it  did  all  Europe,  with  aston 
ishment, —  the  proposed  abdication  of  Charles  the 
Fifth.  It  was  one  that  might  seem  to  admit  of  neither 
doubt  nor  delay  on  Philip's  part.  But  Mary,  distressed 
by  the  prospect  of  separation,  prevailed  on  her  hus 
band  to  postpone  his  departure  for  several  weeks.  She 
yielded,  at  length,  to  the  necessity  of  the  case.  Prep 
arations  were  made  for  Philip's  journey;  and  Mary, 
with  a  heavy  heart,  accompanied  her  royal  consort 
down  the  Thames  to  Greenwich.  Here  they  parted ; 
and  Philip,  taking  an  affectionate  farewell,  and  com 
mending  the  queen  and  her  concerns  to  the  care  of 
Cardinal  Pole,  took  the  road  to  Dover. 

After  a  short  detention  there  by  contrary  winds,  he 
crossed  over  to  Calais,  and  on  the  fourth  of  September 
made  his  entry  into  that  strong  place,  the  last  remnant 
of  all  their  continental  acquisitions  that  still  belonged 
to  the  English. 

Philip  was  received  by  the  authorities  of  the  city 
with  the  honors  due  to  his  rank.  He  passed  some  days 
there  receiving  the  respectful  courtesies  of  the  inhabit 
ants,  and  on  his  departure  rejoiced  the  hearts  of  the 
garrison  by  distributing  among  them  a  thousand  crowns 
of  gold.  He  resumed  his  journey,  with  his  splendid 
train  of  Castilian  and  English  nobles,  among  whom 
were  the  earls  of  Arundel,  Pembroke,  Huntington, 
and  others  of  the  highest  station  in  the  realm.  On 
F* 


I30 


ENGLISH  ALLIANCE. 


the  road  he  was  met  by  a  military  escort  sent  by  his 
father;  and  towards  the  latter  part  of  September,  1555, 
Philip,  with  his  gallant  retinue,  made  his  entry  into  the 
Flemish  capital,  where  the  emperor  and  his  court  were 
eagerly  awaiting  his  arrival.44 

44  Holinshed,  vol.  iv.  p.  80. — Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  iii.  p.  227. — 
Memorial  de  Voyages,  MS. — Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  236. 


CHAPTER    V. 

WAR    WITH    THE     POPE. 

Empire  of  Philip. — Paul  the  Fourth. — Court  of  France.— League 
against  Spain. — The  Duke  of  Alva. — Preparations  for  War. — Vic 
torious  Campaign. 

1555,  1556. 

SOON  after  Philip's  arrival  in  Brussels  took  place 
that  memorable  scene  of  the  abdication  of  Charles  the 
Fifth,  which  occupies  the  introductory  pages  of  our 
narrative.  By  this  event  Philip  saw  himself  master 
of  the  most  widely  extended  and  powerful  monarchy 
in  Europe.  He  was  king  of  Spain,  comprehending 
under  that  name  Castile,  Aragon,  and  Granada,  which, 
after  surviving  as  independent  states  for  centuries,  had 
been  first  brought  under  one  sceptre  in  the  reign  of 
his  father,  Charles  the  Fifth.  He  was  king  of  Naples 
and  Sicily,  and  duke  of  Milan,  which  important  pos 
sessions  enabled  him  to  control  to  a  great  extent  the 
nicely-balanced  scales  of  Italian  politics.  He  was  lord 
of  Franche-Comte,  and  of  the  Low  Countries,  com 
prehending  the  most  flourishing  and  populous  provinces 
in  Christendom,  whose  people  had  made  the  greatest 
progress  in  commerce,  husbandry,  and  the  various  me 
chanic  arts.  As  titular  king  of  England,  he  eventually 
obtained  an  influence  which,  as  we  shall  see,  enabled 
him  to  direct  the  counsels  of  that  country  to  his  own 
purposes.  In  Africa  he  possessed  the  Cape  de  Verd 


1 32  WAR    WITH   THE   POPE. 

Islands  and  the  Canaries,  as  well  as  Tunis,  Oraiv  and 
some  other  important  places  on  the  Barbary  coast.  He 
owned  the  Philippines  and  the  Spice  Islands  in  Asia. 
In  America,  besides  his  possessions  in  the  West  Indies, 
he  was  master  of  the  rich  empires  of  Mexico  and  Peru, 
and  claimed  a  right  to  a  boundless  extent  of  country, 
that  offered  an  inexhaustible  field  to  the  cupidity  and 
enterprise  of  the  Spanish  adventurer.  Thus  the  do 
minions  of  Philip  stretched  over  every  quarter  of  the 
globe.  The  flag  of  Castile  was  seen  in  the  remotest 
latitudes, — on  the  Atlantic,  the  Pacific,  and  the  far-off 
Indian  seas, — passing  from  port  to  port,  and  uniting 
by  commercial  intercourse  the  widely  scattered  mem 
bers  of  her  vast  colonial  empire. 

The  Spanish  army  consisted  of  the  most  formidable 
infantry  in  Europe;  veterans  who  had  been  formed 
under  the  eye  of  Charles  the  Fifth  and  of  his  generals, 
who  had  fought  on  the  fields  of  Pavia  and  of  Muhl- 
berg,  or  who,  in  the  New  World,  had  climbed  the 
Andes  with  Almagro  and  Pizarro  and  helped  these 
bold  chiefs  to  overthrow  the  dynasty  of  the  Incas. 
The  navy  of  Spain  and  Flanders  combined  far  exceeded 
that  of  any  other  power  in  the  number  and  size  of  its 
vessels ;  and  if  its  supremacy  might  be  contested  by 
England  on  the  "  narrow  seas,"  it  rode  the  undisputed 
mistress  of  the  ocean.  To  supply  the  means  for  main 
taining  this  costly  establishment,  as  well  as  the  general 
machinery  of  government,  Philip  had  at  his  command 
the  treasures  of  the  New  World  ;  and  if  the  incessant 
enterprises  of  his  father  had  drained  the  exchequer,  it 
was  soon  replenished  by  the  silver  streams  that  flowed  in 
from  the  inexhaustible  mines  of  Zacatecas  and  Potosi. 


EMPIRE    OF  PHILIP. 


133 


All  this  vast  empire,  with  its  magnificent  resources, 
was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  a  single  man.  Philip 
ruled  over  it  with  an  authority  more  absolute  than  that 
possessed  by  any  European  prince  since  the  days  of  the 
Caesars.  The  Netherlands,  indeed,  maintained  a  show 
of  independence  under  the  shadow  of  their  ancient 
institutions.  But  they  consented  to  supply  the  necessi 
ties  of  the  crown  by  a  tax  larger  than  the  revenues  of 
America.  Naples  and  Milan  were  ruled  by  Spanish 
viceroys.  Viceroys,  with  delegated  powers  scarcely 
less  than  those  of  their  sovereign,  presided  over  the 
American  colonies,  which  received  their  laws  from  the 
parent  country.  In  Spain  itself,  the  authority  of  the 
nobles  was  gone.  First  assailed  under  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  it  was  completely  broken  down  under  Charles 
the  Fifth.  The  liberties  of  the  commons  were  crushed 
at  the  fatal  battle  of  Villalar,  in  the  beginning  of  that 
monarch's  reign.  Without  nobles,  without  commons, 
the  ancient  cortes  had  faded  into  a  mere  legislative 
pageant,  with  hardly  any  other  right  than  that  of  pre 
senting  petitions  and  of  occasionally  raising  an  ineffec 
tual  note  of  remonstrance  against  abuses:  It  had  lost 
the  power  to  redress  them.  Thus  all  authority  vested  in 
the  sovereign.  His  will  was  the  law  of  the  land.  From 
his  palace  at  Madrid  he  sent  forth  the  edicts  which 
became  the  law  of  Spain  and  of  her  remotest  colonies. 
It  may  well  be  believed  that  foreign  nations  watched  with 
interest  the  first  movements  of  a  prince  who  seemed  to 
hold  in  his  hands  the  destinies  of  Europe,  and  that 
they  regarded  with  no  little  apprehension  the  growth 
of  that  colossal  power  which  had  already  risen  to  a. 
height  that  cast  a  shadow  over  every  other  monarchy. 
Philip. — VOL.  I.  12 


134  WAR    WITH   THE   POPE. 

From  his  position,  Philip  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  princes.  He  was  in  temporal  matters 
vyhat  the  pope  was  in  spiritual.  In  the  existing  state 
of  Christendom,  he  had  the  same  interest  as  the  pope 
in  putting  down  that  spirit  of  religious  reform  which 
had  begun  to  show  itself,  in  public  or  in  private,  in 
every  corner  of  Europe.  He  was  the  natural  ally  of 
the  pope.  He  understood  this  well,  and  would  have 
acted  on  it.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  his  very  first  war, 
after  his  accession,  was  with  the  pope  himself.  It  was 
a  war  not  of  Philip's  seeking. 

The  papal  throne  was  at  that  time  filled  by  Paul  the 
Fourth,  one  of  those  remarkable  men  who,  amidst  the 
shadowy  personages  that  have  reigned  in  the  Vatican 
and  been  forgotten,  have  vindicated  to  themselves  a 
permanent  place  in  history.  He  was  a  Neapolitan  by 
birth,  of  the  noble  family  of  the  Caraffas.  He  was 
bred  to  the  religious  profession,  and  early  attracted 
notice  by  his  diligent  application  and  the  fruits  he 
gathered  from  it.  His  memory  was  prodigious.  He 
was  not  only  deeply  read  in  theological  science,  but 
skilled  in  various  languages,  ancient  and  modern, 
several  of  which  he  spoke  with  fluency.  His  rank, 
sustained  by  his  scholarship,  raised  him  speedily  to 
high  preferment  in  the  Church.  In  1513,  when  thirty- 
six  years  of  age,  he  went  as  nuncio  to  England.  In 
1525  he  resigned  his  benefices,  and,  with  a  small  num 
ber  of  his  noble  friends,  he  instituted  a  new  religious 
order,  called  the  Theatins.1  The  object  of  the  society 

1  "  Ritornato  a  Roma,  rinuncio  la  Chiesa  di  Chieti,  che  aveva  prima, 
e  quclla  di  Brindisi,  ritirandosi  affatto,  e  menando  sempre  vita  pri- 
vata,  aliena  da  ogni  sortc  di  publico  affare,  anzi,  lasciata  dopo  il  saco 


PAUL    THE  FOURTH.  135 

was  to  combine,  to  some  extent,  the  contemplative 
habits  of  the  monk  with  the  more  active  duties  of  the 
secular  clergy.  The  members  visited  the  sick,  buried 
the  dead,  and  preached  frequently  in  public,  thus  per 
forming  the  most  important  functions  of  the  priest 
hood.  For  this  last  vocation,  of  public  speaking, 
Caraffa  was  peculiarly  qualified  by  a  flow  of  natural 
eloquence  which,  if  it  did  not  always  convince,  was 
sure  to  carry  away  the  audience  by  its  irresistible 
fervor.8  The  new  order  showed  itself  particularly 
zealous  in  enforcing  reform  in  the  Catholic  clergy  and 
in  stemming  the  tide  of  heresy  which  now  threatened 
to  inundate  the  Church.  Caraffa  and  his  associates 
were  earnest  to  introduce  the  Inquisition.  A  life  of 
asceticism  and  penance  too  often  extinguishes  sympathy 
with  human  suffering,  and  leads  its  votaries  to  regard 
the  sharpest  remedies  as  the  most  effectual  for  the  cure 
of  spiritual  error. 

From  this  austere  way  of  life  Caraffa  was  called,  in 
1536,  to  a  situation  which  engaged  him  more  directly 
in  worldly  concerns.  He  was  made  cardinal  by  Paul 

Roma  stessa,  passo  a  Verona  e  poi  a  Venezia,  quivi  trattenendosi 
lungo  tempo  in  compagnia  di  alcuni  buoni  Religiosi  della  medesima 
inclinazione,  che  poi  crescendo  di  numero,  ed  in  santita  di  costumi, 
fondarono  la  Congregazione,  che  oggi,  dal  Titolo  che  aveva  Paolo 
allora  di  Vescovo  Teatino,  de  Teatini  tuttavia  ritiene  il  nome."  Re- 
lazione  della  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  di  Pietro 
Nores,  MS. — See  also  Relazione  di  Romadi  Bernardo  Navagero,  1558, 
published  in  Relazioni  degli  Ambasciatori  Veneti,  Firenze,  1846,  vol. 
vii.  p.  378. — Navagero,  in  his  report  to  the  senate,  dwells  minutely  on 
the  personal  qualities  as  well  as  the  policy  of  Paul  the  Fourth,  whose 
clnracter  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  curious  study  by  the 
sagacious  Venetian. 

2  Relazione  di  Bernardo  Navagero. 


136  WAR    WITH   THE   POPE. 

the  Third.  He  had,  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Ferdi 
nand  the  Catholic,  been  one  of  the  royal  council  of 
Naples.  The  family  of  Caraffa,  however,  was  of  the 
Angevine  party,  and  regarded  the  house  of  Aragon  in 
the  light  of  usurpers.  The  cardinal  had  been  educated 
in  this  political  creed,  and  even  after  his  elevation  to 
his  new  dignity  he  strongly  urged  Paul  the  Third  to 
assert  the  claims  of  the  holy  see  to  the  sovereignty 
of  Naples.  This  conduct,  which  came  to  the  ears  of 
Charles  the  Fifth,  so  displeased  that  monarch  that  he 
dismissed  Caraffa  from  the  council.  Afterwards,  when 
the  cardinal  was  named  by  the  pope,  his  unfailing 
patron,  to  the  archbishopric  of  Naples,  Charles  re 
sisted  the  nomination,  and  opposed  all  the  obstacles  in 
his  power  to  the  collection  of  the  episcopal  revenues. 
These  indignities  sank  deep  into  the  cardinal's  mind, 
naturally  tenacious  of  affronts ;  and  what  at  first  had 
been  only  a  political  animosity  was  now  sharpened  into 
personal  hatred  of  the  most  implacable  character.3 

Such  was  the  state  of  feeling  when,  on  the  death 
of  Marcellus  the  Second,  in  1555,  Cardinal  Caraffa 
was  raised  to  the  papal  throne.  His  election,  as 
was  natural,  greatly  disgusted  the  emperor,  and  caused 
astonishment  throughout  Europe ;  for  he  had  not  the 
conciliatory  manners  which  win  the  favor  and  the  suf 
frages  of  mankind.  But  the  Catholic  Church  stood 
itself  in  need  of  a  reformer,  to  enable  it  to  resist  the 
encroaching  spirit  of  Protestantism.  This  was  well 
.understood  not  only  by  the  highest  but  by  the  hum-* 

3  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — Rela- 
zione  di  Bernardo  Navagero. — Giannone,  Istcria  civile  del  Regno  di 
Napoli  (Milano,  1823),  torn.  x.  pp.  11-13. 


PAUL    THE  FOURTH.  137 

blest  ecclesiastics ;  and  in  Caraffa  they  saw  the  man 
whose  qualities  precisely  fitted  him  to  effect  such  a 
reform.  He  was,  moreover,  at  the  time  of  his  elec 
tion,  in  his  eightieth  year;  and  age  and  infirmity  have 
always  proved  powerful  arguments  with  the  Sacred 
College,  as  affording  the  numerous  competitors  the 
best  guarantees  for  a  speedy  vacancy.  Yet  it  has 
more  than  once  happened  that  the  fortunate  candidate 
who  has  owed  his  election  mainly  to  his  infirmities 
has  been  miraculously  restored  by  the  touch  of  the 
tiara. 

Paul  the  Fourth — for  such  was  the  name  assumed  by 
the  new  pope,  in  gratitude  to  the  memory  of  his  patron 
- — adopted  a  way  of  life,  on  his  accession,  for  which 
his  brethren  of  the  college  were  not  at  all  prepared. 
The  austerity  and  self-denial  of  earlier  days  formed  a 
strong  contrast  to  the  pomp  of  his  present  establish 
ment  and  the  profuse  luxury  of  his  table.  When  asked 
how  he  would  be  served,  "  How  but  as  a  great  prince?" 
he  answered.  He  usually  passed  three  hours  at  his  din 
ner,  which  consisted  of  numerous  courses  of  the  most 
refined  and  epicurean  dishes.  No  one  dined  with  him, 
though  one  or  more  of  the  cardinals  were  usually 
present,  with  whom  he  freely  conversed ;  and,  as  he 
accompanied  his  meals  with  large  draughts  of  the 
thick,  black  wine  of  Naples,  it  no  doubt  gave  addi 
tional  animation  to  his  discourse.4  At  such  times  his 
favorite  theme  was  the  Spaniards,  whom  he  denounced 

4  "  Vuol  essere  servito  molto  delicatamente ;  e  nel  principio  del  suo 
pontificate  non  bastavano  venticinque  piatti ;  beve  molto  piu  di  quello 
che  mangia ;  il  vino  e  possente  e  gagliardo,  nero  e  tanto  spesso,  che  si 
potria  quasi  tagliare,  e  dimandasi  mangiaguerra,  il  quale  si  conduce 
dal  regno  di  Napoli."  Relazione  di  Bernardo  Navagero. 

12* 


138  WAR    WITH  THE  POPE. 

as  the  scum  of  the  earth,  a  race  accursed  of  God, 
heretics  and  schismatics,  the  spawn  of  Jews  and  of 
Moors.  He  bewailed  the  humiliation  of  Italy,  galled 
by  the  yoke  of  a  nation  so  abject.  But  the  day  had 
come,  he  would  thunder  out,  when  Charles  and  Philip 
were  to  be  called  to  a  reckoning  for  their  ill-gotten 
possessions,  and  be  driven  from  the  land  ! 3 

Yet  Paul  did  not  waste  all  his  hours  in  this  idle 
vaporing,  nor  in  the  pleasures  of  the  table.  He 
showed  the  same  activity  as  ever  in  the  labors  of  the 
closet  and  in  attention  to  business.  He  was  irregular 
in  his  hours,  sometimes  prolonging  his  studies  through 
the  greater  part  of  the  night,  and  at  others  rising  long 
before  the  dawn.  When  thus  engaged,  it  would  not 
have  been  well  for  any  one  of  his  household  to  venture 
into  his  presence  without  a  summons. 

Paul  seemed  to  be  always  in  a  state  of  nervous 
tension.  "  He  is  all  nerve,"  the  Venetian  minister, 
Navagero,  writes  of  him;  "and  when  he  walks,  it  is 
with  a  free,  elastic  step,  as  if  he  hardly  touched  the 
ground."  6  His  natural  arrogance  was  greatly  increased 

5  "  Nazione  Spagnuola,  odiata  da  lui,  e  che  egli  soleva  chiamar  vile, 
ed  abieta,  seme  di  Giudei,  e  feccia  del  Mondo."     Nores,  Guerra  fra 
Paolo  Quarto  e    Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — "  Dicendo  in  presenza  di 
molti :  che  era  venuto  il  tempo,  che  sarebbero  castigati  dei  loro  pec- 
cati;    che  perderebbero  li  stati,  e  che  1'  Italia  snria  liberata."     Rela- 
zione  di  Bernardo  Navagero. — At  another  time  we  find  the  pope 
declaiming  against  the  Spaniards,  now  the   masters  of   Italy,  who 
had  once  been  known  there  only  as  its  cooks:    "  Dice  .  .  .  di  sen- 
tire   infinito   dispiacere,    che    quelli   che   solevano    essere    cuochi   o 
mozzi  di  stalla  in   Italia,  ora  comandino."     Relazione  di  Bernardo 
Navagero. 

6  "  Cammina  che  non  pare  che  tocchi  terra;  e  tutto  nervo  con  poca 
carne."     Relazione  di  Bernardo  Navagero. 


PAUL    THE   FOURTH.  139 

by  his  elevation  to  the  first  dignity  in  Christendom. 
He  had  always  entertained  the  highest  ideas  of  the 
authority  of  the  sacerdotal  office;  and  now  that  he 
was  in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter  he  seemed  to  have  entire 
confidence  in  his  own  infallibility.  He  looked  on  the 
princes  of  Europe  as  not  so  much  his  sons — the  lan 
guage  of  the  Church — as  his  servants,  bound  to  do  his 
bidding.  Paul's  way  of  thinking  would  have  better 
suited  the  twelfth  century  than  the  sixteenth.  He 
came  into  the  world  at  least  three  centuries  too  late. 
In  all  his  acts  he  relied  solely  on  himself.  He  was 
impatient  of  counsel  from  any  one,  and  woe  to  the 
man  who  ventured  to  oppose  any  remonstrance,  still 
more  any  impediment  to  the  execution  of  his  plans. 
He  had  no  misgivings  as  to  the  wisdom  of  these  plans. 
An  idea  that  had  once  taken  possession  of  his  mind 
lay  there,  to  borrow  a  cant  phrase  of  the  day,  like  "a 
fixed  fact," — not  to  be  disturbed  by  argument  or  per 
suasion.  We  occasionally  meet  with  such  characters, 
in  which  strength  of  will  and  unconquerable  energy  in 
action  pass  for  genius  with  the  world.  They,  in  fact, 
serve  as  the  best  substitute  for  genius,  by  the  ascend 
ency  which  such  qualities  secure  their  possessors  over 
ordinary  minds.  Yet  there  were  ways  of  approaching 
the  pontiff,  for  those  who  understood  his  character 
and  who  by  condescending  to  flatter  his  humors  could 
turn  them  to  their  own  account.  Such  was  the  policy 
pursued  by  some  of  Paul's  kindred,  who,  cheered  by 
his  patronage,  now  came  forth  from  their  obscurity  to 
glitter  in  the  rays  of  the  meridian  sun. 

Paul  had  all  his  life  declaimed  against  nepotism  as 
an  opprobrious  sin  in  the  head  of  the  Church.     Yet 


1 40  WAR    WITH   THE  POPE. 

no  sooner  did  he  put  on  the  tiara  than  he  gave  a  glaring 
example  of  the  sin  he  had  denounced,  in  the  favors 
which  he  lavished  on  three  of  his  own  nephews.  This 
was  the  more  remarkable  as  they  were  men  whose  way 
of  life  had  given  scandal  even  to  the  Italians,  not  used 
to  be  too  scrupulous  in  their  judgments. 

The  eldest,  who  represented  the  family,  he  raised  to 
the  rank  of  a  duke,  providing  him  with  an  ample  for 
tune  from  the  confiscated  property  of  the  Colonnas, — 
which  illustrious  house  was  bitterly  persecuted  by  Paul 
for  its  attachment  to  the  Spanish  interests. 

Another  of  his  nephews  he  made  a  cardinal^ — a 
dignity  for  which  he  was  indifferently  qualified  by  his 
former  profession,  which  was  that  of  a  soldier,  and 
still  less  fitted  by  his  life,  which  was  that  of  a  libertine. 
He  was  a  person  of  a  busy,  intriguing  disposition,  and 
stimulated  his  uncle's  vindictive  feelings  against  the 
Spaniards,  whom  he  himself  hated  for  some  affront 
which  he  conceived  had  been  put  upon  him  while  in 
the  emperor's  service.7 

But  Paul  needed  no  prompter  in  this  matter.  He 
very  soon  showed  that,  instead  of  ecclesiastical  reform, 
he  was  bent  on  a  project  much  nearer  to  his  heart, — 
the  subversion  of  the  Spanish  power  in  Naples.  Like 
Julius  the  Second,  of  warlike  memory,  he  swore  to 
drive  out  the  barbarians  from  Italy.  He  seemed  to 
think  that  the  thunders  of  the  Vatican  were  more  than 

7  "  Servl  lungo  tempore  1  'Imperatore,  ma  con  infelicissimo  evento, 
non  avendo  potuto  avere  alcuna  ricompensa,  come  egli  stesso  diceva, 
in  premio  della  sua  miglior  eta,  e  di  molte  fatiche,  e  pericoli  sostenuti, 
se  non  spese,  danni,  disfavore,  esilio  ed  ultimamentc  un  ingiustissima 
prigionia."  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. 
— Relazione  di  Bernardo  Navagero. 


PAUL    THE  FOURTH. 


141 


a  match  for  all  the  strength  of  the  empire  and  of 
Spain.  But  he  was  not  weak  enough  to  rely  wholly 
on  his  spiritual  artillery  in  such  a  contest.  Through 
the  French  ambassador  at  his  court,  he  opened  nego 
tiations  with  France,  and  entered  into  a  secret  treaty 
with  that  power,  by  which  each  of  the  parties  agreed 
to  furnish  a  certain  contingent  of  men  and  money  to 
carry  on  the  war  for  the  recovery  of  Naples.  The 
treaty  was  executed  on  the  sixteenth  of  December, 

I555-8 

In  less  than  two  months  after  this  event,  on  the 
fifth  of  February,  1556,  the  fickle  monarch  of  France, 
seduced  by  the  advantageous  offers  of  Charles,  backed, 
moreover,  by  the  ruinous  state  of  his  own  finances, 
deserted  his  new  ally,  and  signed  the  treaty  of  Vau- 
celles,  which  secured  a  truce  for  five  years  between  his 
dominions  and  those  of  Philip. 

Paul  received  the  news  of  this  treaty  while  sur 
rounded  by  his  courtiers.  He  treated  the  whole  with 
skepticism,  but  expressed  the  pious  hope  that  such  a 
peace  might  be  in  store  for  the  nations  of  Christendom. 
In  private  he  was  not  so  temperate.  But,  without 
expending  his  wrath  in  empty  menaces,  lie  took  effec 
tual  means  to  bring  things  back  to  their  former  state, 
— to  induce  the  French  king  to  renew  the  treaty  with 
himself,  and  at  once  to  begin  hostilities.  He  knew 
the  vacillating  temper  of  the  monarch  he  had  to  deal 
with.  Cardinal  Caraffa  was  accordingly  despatched  on 
a  mission  to  Paris,  fortified  with  ample  powers  for  the 

8  Nbres,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — Sum- 
monte,  Historia  delta  Citta  e  Regno  di  Napoli  (Napoli,  1675),  torn.  iv. 
p.  278. — Giannonc,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  20. 


142  WAR    WITH  THE  POPE. 

arrangement  of  a  new  treaty,  and  with  such  tempting 
promises  on  the  part  of  his  holiness  as  might  insure  its 
acceptance  by  the  monarch  and  his  ministers. 

The  French  monarchy  was  at  that  time  under  the 
sceptre  of  Henry  the  Second,  the  son  of  Francis  the 
First,  to  whose  character  his  own  bore  no  resemblance; 
or  rather  the  resemblance  consisted  in  those  showy 
qualities  which  lie  too  near  the  surface  to  enter  into 
what  may  be  called  character.  He  affected  a  chivalrous 
vein,  excelled  in  the  exercises  of  the  tourney,  and 
indulged  in  vague  aspirations  after  military  renown. 
In  short,  he  fancied  himself  a  hero,  and  seems  to  have 
imposed  on  some  of  his  own  courtiers  so  far  as  to  per 
suade  them  that  he  was  designed  for  one.  But  he  had 
few  of  the  qualities  which  enter  into  the  character  of 
a  hero.  He  was  as  far  from  being  a  hero  as  he  was 
from  being  a  good  Christian,  though  he  thought  to 
prove  his  orthodoxy  by  persecuting  the  Protestants, 
who  were  now  rising  into  a  formidable  sect  in  the 
southern  parts  of  his  kingdom.  He  had  little  reliance 
on  his  own  resources,  leading  a  life  of  easy  indulgence, 
and  trusting  the  direction  of  his  affairs  to  his  favorites 
and  his  mistresses. 

The  most  celebrated  of  these  was  Diana  of  Poictiers, 
created  by  Henry  duchess  of  Valentinois,  who  pre 
served  her  personal  charms  and  her  influence  over  her 
royal  lover  to  a  much  later  period  than  usually  hap 
pens.  The  persons  of  his  court  in  whom  the  king 
most  confided  were  the  Constable  Montmorency  and 
the  duke  of  Guise. 

Anne  de  Montmorency,  constable  of  France,  was 
one  of  the  proudest  of  the  French  nobility, — proud 


COURT  OF  FRANCE.  !43 

alike  of  his  great  name,  his  rank,  and  his  authority 
with  his  sovereign.  He  had  grown  gray  in  the  service 
of  the  court,  and  Henry,  accustomed  to  his  society 
from  boyhood,  had  learned  to  lean  on  him  for  the 
execution  of  his  measures.  Yet  his  judgments,  though 
confidently  given,  were  not  always  sound.  His  views 
were  far  from  being  enlarged ;  and,  though  full  of 
courage,  he  showed  little  capacity  for  military  affairs. 
A  consciousness  of  this,  perhaps,  may  have  led  him  to 
recommend  a  pacific  policy,  suited  to  his  own  genius. 
He  was  a  staunch  Catholic,  extremely  punctilious  in 
all  the  ceremonies  of  devotion,  and,  if  we  may  credit 
Brantome,  would  strangely  mingle  together  the  military 
and  the  religious.  He  repeated  his  Pater-Noster  at 
certain  fixed  hours,  whatever  might  be  his  occupation 
at  the  time.  He  would  occasionally  break  off  to  give 
his  orders,  calling  out,  "  Cut  me  down  such  a  man  !" 
"Hang  up  another!"  "Run  those  fellows  through 
with  your  lances  !"  "Set  fire  to  that  village  !" — and 
so  on ;  when,  having  thus  relieved  the  military  part  of 
his  conscience,  he  would  go  on  with  his  Pater-Nosters 
as  before.9 

A  very  different  character  was  that  of  his  younger 
rival,  Francis,  duke  of  Guise,  uncle  to  Mary,  queen 

9  Brantome,  who  has  introduced  the  constable  into  his  gallery  of 
portraits,  has  not  omitted  this  characteristic  anecdote  :  "  On  disait  qu'il 
se  falloit  garder  des  pate-nostres  de  M.  le  connestable,  car  en  les  disant 
et  marmottant  lors  que  les  ocasions  se  presentoient,  comme  force 
desbordemens  et  desordres  y  arrivent  maintenant,  il  disoit :  Allez  moy 
prendre  un  tel ;  attachez  celuy  1&.  &  cet  arbre ;  faictes  passer  cestuy  la 
par  les  picques  tout  a  ceste  heure,  ou  les  harquebuses  tout  devant  moy  ; 
taillez  moy  en  pieces  tous  ces  marauts,"  etc.  Brant&me,  CEuvres 
(Paris,  1822),  torn.  ii.  372. 


I44  WAR    WITH  THE   POPE. 

of  Scots,  and  brother  to  the  regent.  Of  a  bold,  as 
piring  temper,  filled  with  the  love  of  glory,  brilliant 
and  popular  in  his  address,  he  charmed  the  people  by 
his  manners  and  the  splendor  of  his  equipage  and 
dress.  He  came  to  court  attended  usually  by  three 
or  four  hundred  cavaliers,  who  formed  themselves  on 
Guise  as  their  model.  His  fine  person  was  set  off  by 
the  showy  costume  of  the  time, — a  crimson  doublet 
and  cloak  of  spotless  ermine,  and  a  cap  ornamented 
with  a  scarlet  plume.  In  this  dress  he  might  often  be 
seen,  mounted  on  his  splendid  charger  and  followed 
by  a  gay  retinue  of  gentlemen,  riding  at  full  gallop 
through  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  attracting  the  admi 
ration  of  the  people. 

But  his  character  was  not  altogether  made  up  of 
such  vanities.  He  was  sagacious  in  counsel,  and  had 
proved  himself  the  best  captain  of  France.  It  was  he 
who  commanded  at  the  memorable  siege  of  Metz  and 
foiled  the  efforts  of  the  imperial  forces  under  Charles 
and  the  duke  of  Alva.  Caraffa  found  little  difficulty 
in  winning  him  over  to  his  cause,  as  he  opened  to  the 
ambitious  chief  the  brilliant  perspective  of  the  conquest 
of  Naples.  The  arguments  of  the  wily  Italian  were 
supported  by  the  duchess  of  Valentinois.  It  was  in 
vain  that  the  veteran  Montmorency  reminded  the  king 
of  the  ruinous  state  of  the  finances,  which  had  driven 
him  to  the  shameful  expedient  of  putting  up  public 
offices  to  sale.  The  other  party  represented  that  the 
condition  of  Spain,  after  her  long  struggle,  was  little 
better;  that  the  reins  of  government  had  now  been 
transferred  from  the  wise  Charles  to  the  hands  of  his 
inexperienced  son ;  and  that  the  co-operation  of  Rome 


LEAGUE   AGAINST  SPAIN.  145 

afforded  a  favorable  conjunction  of  circumstances,  not 
to  be  neglected.  Henry  was  further  allured  by  Ca- 
raffVs  assurance  that  his  uncle  would  grant  to  the 
French  monarch  the  investiture  of  Naples  for  one  of 
his  younger  sons,  and  bestow  Milan  on  another.  The 
offer  was  too  tempting  to  be  resisted. 

One  objection  occurred,  in  certain  conscientious 
scruples  as  to  the  violation  of  the  recent  treaty  of 
Vaucelles.  But  for  this  the  pope,  who  had  anticipated 
the  objection,  readily  promised  absolution.  As  the 
king  also  intimated  some  distrust  lest  the  successor  of 
Paul,  whose  advanced  age  made  his  life  precarious, 
might  not  be  inclined  to  carry  out  the  treaty,  Caraffa 
was  authorized  to  assure  him  that  this  danger  should 
be  obviated  by  the  creation  of  a  batch  of  French  car 
dinals,  or  of  cardinals  in  the  French  interest. 

All  the  difficulties  being  thus  happily  disposed  of, 
the  treaty  was  executed  in  the  month  of  July,  1556. 
The  parties  agreed  each  to  furnish  about  twelve  thou 
sand  infantry,  five  hundred  men-at-arms,  and  the  same 
number  of  light  horse.  France  was  to  contribute  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  ducats  to  the  expenses  of 
the  war,  and  Rome  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 
The  French  troops  were  to  be  supplied  with  provisions 
by  the  pope,  for  which  they  were  to  reimburse  his  holi 
ness.  It  was  moreover  agreed  that  the  crown  of  Naples 
should  be  settled  on  a  younger  son  of  Henry,  that  a 
considerable  tract  on  the  northern  frontier  should  be 
transferred  to  the  papal  territory,  and  that  ample  es 
tates  should  be  provided  from  the  new  conquests  for 
the  three  nephews  of  his  holiness.  In  short,  the  sys 
tem  of  partition  was  as  nicely  adjusted  as  if  the  quarry 
Philip.— VOL.  I.— G  13 


146  WAR    WITH  THE  POPE. 

were  actually  in  their  possession,  ready  to  be  cut  up 
and  divided  among  the  parties.10 

Finally,  it  was  arranged  that  Henry  should  invite 
the  Sultan  Solyman  to  renew  his  former  alliance  with 
France  and  make  a  descent  with  his  galleys  on  the 
coast  of  Calabria.  Thus  did  his  most  Christian 
majesty,  with  the  pope  for  one  of  his  allies  and  the 
Grand  Turk  for  the  other,  prepare  to  make  war  on  the 
most  Catholic  prince  in  Christendom  ! " 

Meanwhile,  Paul  the  Fourth,  elated  by  the  prospect 
of  a  successful  negotiation,  threw  off  the  little  decency 
he  had  hitherto  preserved  in  his  deportment.  He 
launched  out  into  invectives  more  bitter  than  ever 
against  Philip,  and  in  a  tone  of  defiance  told  such  of 
the  Spanish  cardinals  as  were  present  that  they  might 
repeat  his  sayings  to  their  master.  He  talked  of  in 
stituting  a  legal  process  against  the  king  for  the  re 
covery  of  Naples,  which  he  had  forfeited  by  omitting 
to  pay  the  yearly  tribute  to  the  holy  see.  The  pretext 
was  ill  founded,  as  the  pope  well  knew.  But  the  pro 
cess  went  on  with  suitable  gravity,  and  a  sentence  of 
forfeiture  was  ultimately  pronounced  against  the  Span 
ish  monarch. 

With  these  impotent  insults,  Paul  employed  more 
effectual  means  of  annoyance.  He  persecuted  all  who 
showed  any  leaning  to  the  Spanish  interest.  He  set 
about  repairing  the  walls  of  Rome  and  strengthening 

10  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — Sum- 
monte.  Historia  di  Napoli,  torn.  iv.  p.  280. — Giannone,  Istoria  di 
Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  21. — De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  p.  23, 
et  seq. 

"  Giannone,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  19. 


THE  DUKE    OF  ALVA.  147 

the  garrisons  on  the  frontier.  His  movements  raised 
great  alarm  among  the  Romans,  who  had  too  vivid  a 
recollection  of  their  last  war  with  Spain,  under  Clem 
ent  the  Seventh,  to  wish  for  another.  Garcilasso  de  la 
Vega,  who  had  represented  Philip,  during  his  father's 
reign,  at  the  papal  court,  wrote  a  full  account  of  these 
doings  to  the  viceroy  of  Naples.  Garcilasso  was 
instantly  thrown  into  prison.  Taxis,  the  Spanish 
director  of  the  posts,  was  both  thrown  into  prison  and 
put  to  the  torture.  Saria,  the  imperial  ambassador, 
after  in  vain  remonstrating  against  these  outrages, 
waited  on  the  pope  to  demand  his  passport,  and  was 
kept  standing  a  full  hour  at  the  gate  of  the  Vatican 
before  he  was  admitted.12 

Philip  had  full  intelligence  of  all  these  proceedings. 
He  had  long  since  descried  the  dark  storm  that  was 
mustering  beyond  the  Alps.  He  had  provided  for  it 
at  the  close  of  the  preceding  year,  by  committing  the 
government  of  Naples  to  the  man  most  competent  to 
such  a  crisis.  This  was  the  duke  of  Alva,  at  that  time 
governor  of  Milan  and  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  in  Italy.  As  this  remarkable  person  is  to  oc 
cupy  a  large  space  in  the  subsequent  pages  of  this 
narrative,  it  may  be  well  to  give  some  account  of  his 
earlier  life. 

Fernando  Alvarez  de  Toledo  was  descended  from  an 
illustrious  house  in  Castile,  whose  name  is  associated 
with  some  of  the  most  memorable  events  in  the  na 
tional  history.  He  was  born  in  1508,  and,  while  a 

12  NoreSj  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — Carta 
del  Duque  de  Alba  a  la  Gobernadora,  28  de  Julio,  1556,  MS. — Gian- 
none,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  pp.  15,  16. 


148  WAR    WITH   THE   POPE. 

child,  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  father,  who  per 
ished  in  Africa,  at  the  siege  of  Gelves.  The  care  of 
the  orphan  devolved  on  his  grandfather,  the  celebrated 
conqueror  of  Navarre.  Under  this  veteran  teacher  the 
young  Fernando  received  his  first  lessons  in  war,  being 
present  at  more  than  one  skirmish  when  quite  a  boy. 
This  seems  to  have  sharpened  his  appetite  for  a  sol 
dier's  life,  for  we  find  him  at  the  age  of  sixteen  secretly 
leaving  his  home  and  taking  service  under  the  banner 
of  the  Constable  Velasco,  at  the  siege  of  Fontarabia. 
He  was  subsequently  made  governor  of  that  place.  In 
1527,  when  not  twenty  years  of  age,  he  carne,  by  his 
grandfather's  death,  into  possession  of  the  titles  and 
large  patrimonial  estates  of  the  house  of  Toledo. 

The  capacity  which  he  displayed,  as  well  as  his  high 
rank,  soon  made  him  an  object  of  attention  ;  and  as 
Philip  grew  in  years,  the  duke  of  Alva  was  placed 
near  his  person,  formed  one  of  his  council,  and  took 
part  in  the  regency  of  Castile.  He  accompanied 
Philip  on  his  journeys  from  Spain,  and,  as  we  have 
seen,  made  one  of  his  retinue  both  in  Flanders  and  in 
England.  The  duke  was  of  too  haughty  and  imperious 
a  temper  to  condescend  to  those  arts  which  are  thought 
to  open  the  most  ready  avenues  to  the  favor  of  the 
sovereign.  He  met  with  rivals  of  a  finer  policy  and 
more  accommodating  disposition.  Yet  Philip  perfectly 
comprehended  his  character.  He  knew  the  strength 
of  his  understanding,  and  did  full  justice  to  his  loy 
alty;  and  he  showed  his  confidence  in  his  integrity  by 
placing  him  in  offices  of  the  highest  responsibility. 

The  emperor,  with  his  usual  insight  into  character, 
had  early  discerned  the  military  talents  of  the  young 


THE  DUKE    OF  ALVA. 


149 


nobleman.  He  took  Alva  along  with  him  on  his 
campaigns  in  Germany,  where  from  a  subordinate  sta 
tion  he  rapidly  rose  to  the  first  command  in  the  army. 
Such  was  his  position  at  the  unfortunate  siege  of  Metz, 
where  the  Spanish  infantry  had  nearly  been  sacrificed 
to  the  obstinacy  of  Charles. 

In  his  military  career  the  duke  displayed  some  of 
the  qualities  most  characteristic  of  his  countrymen. 
But  they  were  those  qualities  which  belong  to  a  riper 
period  of  life.  He  showed  little  of  that  romantic 
and  adventurous  spirit  of  the  Spanish  cavalier  which 
seemed  to  court  peril  for  its  own  sake  and  would 
hazard  all  on  a  single  cast.  Caution  was  his  promi 
nent  trait,  in  which  he  was  a  match  for  any  graybeard 
in  the  army, — a  caution  carried  to  such  a  length  as 
sometimes  to  put  a  curb  on  the  enterprising  spirit  of 
the  emperor.  Men  were  amazed  to  see  so  old  a  head 
on  so  young  shoulders. 

Yet  this  caution  was  attended  by  a  courage  which 
dangers  could  not  daunt,  and  by  a  constancy  which 
toil,  however  severe,  could  not  tire.  He  preferred  the 
surest,  even  though  the  slowest,  means  to  attain  his 
object.  He  was  not  ambitious  of  effect ;  never  sought 
to  startle  by  a  brilliant  coup- de-main.  He  would  not 
have  compromised  a  single  chance  in  his  own  favor  by 
appealing  to  the  issue  of  a  battle.  He  looked  steadily 
to  the  end,  and  he  moved  surely  towards  it  by  a  system 
of  operations  planned  with  the  nicest  forecast.  The 
result  of  these  operations  was  almost  always  success. 
Few  great  commanders  have  been  more  uniformly 
successful  in  their  campaigns.  Yet  it  was  rare  that 
these  campaigns  were  marked  by  what  is  so  dazzling 


150  WAR    WITH  THE   POPE. 

to  the  imagination  of  the  young  aspirant  for  glory, — a 
great  and  decisive  victory.  Such  were  some  of  the 
more  obvious  traits  in  the  military  character  of  the 
chief  to  whom  Philip  at  this  crisis  confided  the  post 
of  viceroy  of  Naples.13 

Before  commencing  hostilities  against  the  Church, 
the  Spanish  monarch  determined  to  ease  his  con 
science  by  obtaining,  if  possible,  a  warrant  for  his 
proceedings  from  the  Church  itself.  He  assembled  a 
body  composed  of  theologians  from  Salamanca,  Alcala, 
Valladolid,  and  some  other  places,  and  of  jurists  from 
his  several  councils,  to  resolve  certain  queries  which 
he  propounded.  Among  the  rest,  he  inquired  whether, 
in  case  of  a  defensive  war  with  the  pope,  it  would  not 
be  lawful  to  sequestrate  the  revenues  of  those  persons, 

*3  I  have  three  biographies  of  the  duke  of  Alva,  which  give  a  view 
of  his  whole  career.  The  most  important  is  one  in  Latin,  by  a  Span 
ish  Jesuit  named  Ossorio,  and  entitled  Ferdinand!  Toletani  Albae 
Ducis  Vita  et  Res  gestse  (Salmanticae,  1669).  The  author  wrote 
nearly  a  century  after  the  time  of  his  hero.  But,  as  he  seems  to  have 
had  access  to  the  best  sources  of  information,  his  narrative  may  be 
said  to  rest  on  a  good  foundation.  He  writes  in  a  sensible  and  busi 
ness-like  manner,  more  often  found  among  the  Jesuits  than  among  the 
members  of  the  other  orders.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  harsher 
features  of  the  portrait  should  be  smoothed  down  under  the  friendly 
hand  of  the  Jesuit  commemorating  the  deeds  of  the  great  champion 
of  Catholicism.  A  French  life  of  the  duke,  printed  some  thirty  years 
later,  is  only  a  translation  of  the  preceding,  Histoire  de  Ferdinand- 
Alvarez  de  Tolede,  Due  d'Albe  (Paris,  1699).  A  work  of  more  pre 
tension  is  entitled  Resultas  de  la  Vida  de  Fernando  Alvarez  tercero 
Duqtie  de  Alva,  escrita  por  Don  Juan  Antonio  de  Vera  y  Figueroa, 
.Conde  de  la  Roca  (1643).  It  belongs,  apparently,  to  a  class  of  works 
not  uncommon  in  Spain,  in  which  vague  and  uncertain  statements 
take  the  place  of  simple  narrative,  and  the  writer  covers  up  his  stilted 
panegyric  with  the  solemn  garb  of  moral  philosophy. 


PREPARATIONS  FOR    WAR.  151 

natives  or  foreigners,  who  had  benefices  in  Spain,  but 
who  refused  obedience  to  the  orders  of  its  sovereign ; 
whether  he  might  not  lay  an  embargo  on  all  revenues 
of  the  Church,  and  prohibit  any  remittance  of  moneys 
to  Rome ;  whether  a  council  might  not  be  convoked 
to  determine  the  validity  of  Paul's  election,  which  in 
some  particulars  was  supposed  to  have  been  irregular; 
whether  inquiry  might  not  be  made  into  the  gross 
abuses  of  ecclesiastical  patronage  by  the  Roman  see, 
and  effectual  measures  taken  to  redress  them.  The 
suggestion  of  an  ecclesiastical  council  was  a  menace 
that  grated  unpleasantly  on  the  pontifical  ear,  and  was 
used  by  European  princes  as  a  sort  of  counterblast  to 
the  threat  of  excommunication.  The  particular  ob 
jects  for  which  this  council  was  to  be  summoned  were 
not  of  a  kind  to  soothe  the  irritable  nerves  of  his  holi 
ness.  The  conclave  of  theologians  and  jurists  made 
as  favorable  responses  as  the  king  had  anticipated  to 
his  several  interrogatories;  and  Philip,  under  so  re 
spectable  a  sanction,  sent  orders  to  his  viceroy  to  take 
effectual  measures  for  the  protection  of  Naples.14 

Alva  had  not  waited  for  these  orders,  but  had  busily 
employed  himself  in  mustering  his  resources  and  in 
collecting  troops  from  the  Abruzzi  and  other  parts  of 
his  territory.  As  hostilities  were  inevitable,  he  deter 
mined  to  strike  the  first  blow,  and  carry  the  war  into 
the  enemy's  country  before  he  had  time  to  cross  the 
Neapolitan  frontier.  Like  his  master,  however,  the 
duke  was  willing  to  release  himself,  as  far  as  possible, 

M  Giannone,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  27. — Consulta  hecha  a 
varios  letrados  y  teologos  relativamente  a  las  desavenencias  con  el 
Papa,  MS.  This  document  is  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Simancas. 


!52  WAR    WITH   THE   POPE. 

from  personal  responsibility  before  taking  up  arms 
against  the  head  of  the  Church.  He  accordingly  ad 
dressed  a  manifesto  to  the  pope  and  the  cardinals, 
setting  forth  in  glowing  terms  the  manifold  grievances 
of  his  sovereign;  the  opprobrious  and  insulting  lan 
guage  of  Paul;  the  indignities  offered  to  Philip's 
agents  and  to  the  imperial  ambassador;  the  process 
instituted  for  depriving  his  master  of  Naples;  and 
lastly,  the  warlike  demonstrations  of  the  pope  along 
the  frontier,  which  left  no  doubt  as  to  his  designs. 
He  conjured  his  holiness  to  pause  before  he  plunged 
his  country  into  war.  As  the  head  of  the  Church,  it 
was  his  duty  to  preserve  peace,  not  to  bring  war  into 
Christendom.  He  painted  the  inevitable  evils  of  war, 
and  the  ruin  and  devastation  which  it  must  bring  on 
the  fair  fields  of  Italy.  If  this  were  done,  it  would  be 
the  pope's  doing,  and  his  would  be  the  responsibility. 
On  the  part  of  Naples  the  war  would  be  a  war  of  de 
fence.  For  himself,  he  had  no  alternative.  He  was 
placed  there  to  maintain  the  possessions  of  his  sove 
reign  ;  and,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  he  would  maintain 
them  to  the  last  drop  of  his  blood.15 

»5  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — Andrea, 
Guerra  de  Campana  de  Roma  (Madrid,  1589),  p.  14. — Summonte, 
Historia  di  Napoli,  torn.  iv.  p.  270. — The  most  circumstantial  printed 
account  of  this  war  is  to  be  found  in  the  work  of  Alessandro  Andrea, 
a  Neapolitan.  It  was  first  published  in  Italian,  at  Venice,  and  subse 
quently  translated  by  the  author  into  Castilian,  and  printed  at  Madrid. 
Andrea  was  a  soldier  of  some  experience,  and  his  account  of  these 
transactions  is  derived  partly  from  personal  observation,  and  partly,  as 
he  tells  us,  from  the  most  accredited  witnesses.  The  Spanish  version 
was  made  at  the  suggestion  of  one  of  Philip's  ministers, — pretty  good 
evidence  that  the  writer,  in  his  narrative,  had  demeaned  himself  like 
a  loyal  subject. 


VICTORIOUS   CAMPAIGN. 


153 


Alva,  while  making  this  appeal  to  the  pope,  invoked 
the  good  offices  of  the  Venetian  government  in  bringing 
about  a  reconciliation  between  Philip  and  the  Vatican. 
His  spiritual  manifesto  to  the  pope  was  intrusted  to  a 
special  messenger,  a  person  of  some  consideration  in 
Naples.  The  only  reply  which  the  hot-headed  pontiff 
made  to  it  was  to  throw  the  envoy  into  prison,  and,  as 
some  state,  to  put  him  to  the  torture. 

Meanwhile,  Alva,  who  had  not  placed  much  reliance 
on  the  success  of  his  appeal,  had  mustered  a  force 
amounting  in  all  to  twelve  thousand  infantry,  fifteen 
hundred  horse,  and  a  train  of  twelve  pieces  of  artillery. 
His  infantry  was  chiefly  made  up  of  Neapolitans,  some 
of  whom  had  seen  but  little  service.  The  strength  of 
his  army  lay  in  his  Spanish  veterans,  forming  one-third 
of  his  force.  The  place  of  rendezvous  was  San  Ger 
mane,  a  town  on  the  northern  frontier  of  the  kingdom. 
On  the  first  of  September,  1556,  Alva,  attended  by  a 
gallant  band  of  cavaliers,  left  the  capital,  and  on  the 
fourth  arrived  at  the  place  appointed.  The  following 
day  he  crossed  the  borders  at  the  head  of  his  troops, 
and  marched  on  Pontecorvo.  He  met  with  no  resist 
ance  from  the  inhabitants,  who  at  once  threw  open 
their  gates  to  him.  Several  other  places  followed  the 
example  of  Pontecorvo ;  and  Alva,  taking  possession 
of  them,  caused  a  scutcheon  displaying  the  arms  of  th"e 
Sacred  College  to  be  hung  up  in  the  principal  church 
of  each  town,  with  a  placard  announcing  that  he  held 
it  only  for  the  college,  until  the  election  of  a  new 
pontiff.  By  this  act  he  proclaimed  to  the  Christian 
world  that  the  object  of  the  war,  as  far  as  Spain  was 
concerned,  was  not  conquest,  but  defence.  Some  his- 


I54  WAR    WITH   THE   POPE. 

torians  find  in  it  a  deeper  policy, — that  of  exciting 
feelings  of  distrust  between  the  pope  and  the  car 
dinals.16 

Anagni,  a  place  of  some  strength,  refused  the  duke's 
summons  to  surrender.  He  was  detained  three  days 
before  his  guns  had  opened  a  practicable  breach  in  the 
walls.  He  then  ordered  an  assault.  The  town  was 
stormed  and  delivered  up  to  sack, — by  which  phrase  is 
to  be  understood  the  perpetration  of  all  those  outrages 
which  the  ruthless  code  of  war  allowed,  in  that  age,  on 
the  persons  and  property  of  the  defenceless  inhabitants, 
without  regard  to  sex  or  age.17 

One  or  two  other  places  which  made  resistance 
shared  the  fate  of  Anagni ;  and  the  duke  of  Alva, 
having  garrisoned  his  new  conquests  with  such  forces 
as  he  could  spare,  led  his  victorious  legions  against 
Tivoli, — a  town  strongly  situated  on  elevated  ground, 
commanding  the  eastern  approaches  to  the  capital. 
The  place  surrendered  without  attempting  a  defence; 
and  Alva,  willing  to  give  his  men  some  repose,  made 
Tivoli  his  head-quarters,  while  his  army  spread  over 
the  suburbs  and  adjacent  country,  which  afforded  good 
forage  for  his  cavalry. 

The  rapid  succession  of  these  events,  the  fall  of 
town  after  town,  and,  above  all,  the  dismal  fate  of 

16  Giannone,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  25. — Carta  del  Duque  de 
Alba  a  la  Gobernadora,  8  de  Setiembre,  1556,  MS. — "  In  tal  modo, 
non  solo  veniva  a  mitigar  1*  asprezze,  che  portava  seco  1'  occupar  le 
Terre  dellostato  ecclesiastico,  ma  veniva  a  sparger  semi  di  discordia,  e 
di  sisma,  fra  li  Cardinal!  ed  il  Papa,  tentando  d'  alienarli  da  lui,  e 
mostrargli  verso  di  loro  riverenza  e  rispetto."  Nores,  Guerra  fra 
Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. 

'7  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. 


VICTOR  10  US   CA MPAIGN. 


'55 


Anagni,  filled  the  people  of  Rome  with  terror.  The 
women  began  to  hurry  out  of  the  city ;  many  of  the 
men  would  have  followed  but  for  the  interference  of 
Cardinal  Caraffa.  The  panic  was  as  great  as  if  the 
enemy  had  been  already  at  the  gates  of  the  capital. 
Amidst  this  general  consternation,  Paul  seemed  to  be 
almost  the  only  person  who  retained  his  self-possession. 
Navagero,  the  Venetian  minister,  was  present  when  he 
received  tidings  of  the  storming  of  Anagni,  and  bears 
witness  to  the  composure  with  which  he  went  through 
the  official  business  of  the  morning,  as  if  nothing  had 
happened.18  This  was  in  public;  but  the  shock  was 
sufficiently  strong  to  strike  out  some  sparkles  of  his 
fiery  temper,  as  those  found  who  met  him  that  day  in 
private.  To  the  Venetian  agent  who  had  come  to 
Rome  to  mediate  a  peace,  and  who  pressed  him  to 
enter  into  some  terms  of  accommodation  with  the 
Spaniards,  he  haughtily  replied  that  Alva  must  first 
recross  the  frontier,  and  then,  if  he  had  aught  to 
solicit,  prefer  his  petition  like  a  dutiful  son  of  the 
Church.  This  course  was  not  one  very  likely  to  be 
adopted  by  the  victorious  general.19 

In  an  interview  with  two  French  gentlemen,  who,  as 
he  had  reason  to  suppose,  were  interesting  themselves 
in  the  affair  of  a  peace,  he  exclaimed,  "Whoever  would 
bring  me  into  a  peace  with  heretics  is  a  servant  of  the 

18  "  Stava  intrepido,  parlando  delle  cose  appartenenti  a  quel'  uffizio, 
come  se  non  vi  fusse  alcuna  sospezione  di  guerra,  non  che  gl'  inimici 
fussero  vicini  alle  porte."  Relazione  di  Bernardo  Navagero. 

J9  "  Pontifex  earn  conditionem  ad  se  relatam  aspernatus  in  eo  per- 
sistebat,  ut  Albanus  copias  domum  reduceret,  deinde  quod  vellet,  a  se 
supplicibus  precibus  postularet."  Sepulveda,  De  Rebus  gestis  Philippi 
II.,  lib  i.  cap.  17. 


156  WAR    WITH   THE   POPE. 

Devil.  Heaven  will  take  vengeance  on  him.  I  will 
pray  that  God's  curse  may  fall  on  him.  If  I  find  that 
you  intermeddle  in  any  such  matter,  I  will  cut  your 
heads  off  your  shoulders.  Do  not  think  this  an  empty 
threat.  I  have  an  eye  in  my  back  on  you," — quoting 
an  Italian  proverb, — "and  if  I  find  you  playing  me 
false,  or  attempting  to  entangle  me  a  second  time  in 
an  accursed  truce,  I  swear  to  you  by  the  eternal  God, 
I  will  make  your  heads  fly  from  your  shoulders,  come 
what  may  come  of  it!"  "In  this  way,"  concludes 
the  narrator,  one  of  the  parties,  "  his  holiness  con 
tinued  for  nearly  an  hour,  walking  up  and  down  the 
apartment,  and  talking  all  the  while  of  his  own  griev 
ances  and  of  cutting  off  .our  heads,  until  he  had  talked 
himself  quite  out  of  breath."20 

But  the  valor  of  the  pope  did  not  expend  itself  in 
words.  He  instantly  set  about  putting  the  capital  in 
the  best  state  of  defence.  He  taxed  the  people  to 
raise  funds  for  his  troops,  drew  in  the  garrisons  from 
the  neighboring  places,  formed  a  body-guard  of  six  or 
seven  hundred  horse,  and -soon  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  his  Roman  levies,  amounting  to  six  thousand 
infantry,  well  equipped  for  the  war.  They  made  a 
brave  show,  with  their  handsome  uniforms  and  their 
banners  richly  emblazoned  with  the  pontifical  arms. 
As  they  passed  in  review  before  his  holiness,  who 
stood  at  one  of  the  windows  of  his  palace,  he  gave 
them  his  benediction.  But  the  edge  of  the  Roman 
sword,  according  to  an  old  proverb,  was  apt  to  be 
blunt;  and  these  holiday  troops  were  soon  found  to 
be  no  match  for  the  hardy  veterans  of  Spain. 

30  Sismondi,  Histoire  des  Fran9ais,  torn,  xviii.  p.  17. 


VICTORIOUS   CAMPAIGN.  157 

Among  the  soldiers  at  the  pope's  disposal  was  a  body 
of  German  mercenaries,  who  followed  war  as  a  trade, 
and  let  themselves  out  to  the  highest  bidder.  They 
were  Lutherans,  with  little  knowledge  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  and  less  respect  for  it.  They  stared 
at  its  rites  as  mummeries,  and  made  a  jest  of  its  most 
solemn  ceremonies,  directly  under  the  eyes  of  the 
pope.  But  Paul,  who  at  other  times  would  have  pun 
ished  offences  like  these  with  the  gibbet  and  the  stake, 
could  not  quarrel  with  his  defenders,  and  was  obliged 
to  digest  his  mortification  as  he  best  might.  It  was 
remarked  that  the  times  were  sadly  out  of  joint,  when 
the  head  of  the  Church  had  heretics  for  his  allies  and 
Catholics  for  his  enemies.21 

Meanwhile  the  duke  of  Alva  was  lying  at  Tivoli. 
If  he  had  taken  advantage  of  the  panic  caused  by  his 
successes,  he  might,  it  was  thought,  without  much 
difficulty  have  made  himself  master  of  the  capital. 
But  this  did  not  suit  his  policy,  which  was  rather  to 
bring  the  pope  to  terms  than  to  ruin  him.  He  was 
desirous  to  reduce  the  city  by  cutting  off  its  supplies. 
The  possession  of  Tivoli,  as  already  noticed,  enabled 
him  to  command  the  eastern  approaches  to  Rome,  and 
he  now  proposed  to  make  himself  master  of  Ostia  and 
thus  destroy  the  communications  with  the  coast. 

Accordingly,  drawing  together  his  forces,  he  quitted 
Tivoli,  and  directed  his  march  across  the  Campagna, 
south  of  the  Roman  capital.  On  his  way  he  made 

21  "  Quel  Pontefice,  che  per  ciascuna  di  queste  cose  che  fosse  cascata 
in  un  processo,  avrebbe  condannato  ognuno  alia  morte  ed  al  fuoco,  le 
tollerava  in  questi,  come  in  suoi  defensori."  Relazione  di  Bernardo 
Kavagero. 

Philip.— VOL.  I.  14 


158  WAR    WITH  THE   POPE. 

himself  master  of  some  places  belonging  to  the  holy 
see,  and  in  the  early  part  of  November  arrived  before 
Ostia  and  took  up  a  position  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber, 
where  it  spread  into  two  branches,  the  northern  one 
of  which  was  called  the  Fiumicino,  or  little  river.  The 
town,  or  rather  village,  consisted  of  only  a  few  strag 
gling  houses,  very  different  from  the  proud  Ostia  whose 
capacious  harbor  was  once  filled  with  the  commerce 
of  the  world.  It  was  protected  by  a  citadel  of  some 
strength,  garrisoned  by  a  small  but  picked  body  of 
troops,  so  indifferently  provided  with  military  stores 
that  it  was  clear  the  government  had  not  anticipated 
an  attack  in  this  quarter. 

The  duke  ordered  a  number  of  boats  to  be  sent 
round  from  Nettuno,  a  place  on  the  coast,  of  which  he 
had  got  possession.  By  means  of  these  he  formed  a 
bridge,  over  which  he  passed  a  small  detachment  of 
his  army,  together  with  his  battering  train  of  artillery. 
The  hamlet  was  easily  taken,  but,  as  the  citadel  refused 
to  surrender,  Alva  laid  regular  siege  to  it.  He  con 
structed  two  batteries,  on  which  he  planted  his  heavy 
guns,  commanding  opposite  quarters  of  the  fortress. 
He  then  opened  a  lively  cannonade  on  the  outworks, 
which  was  returned  with  great  spirit  by  the  garrison. 

Meanwhile  he  detached  a  considerable  body  of 
horse,  under  Colonna,  who  swept  the  country  to  the 
very  walls  of  Rome.  A  squadron  of  cavalry,  whose 
gallant  bearing  had  filled  the  heart  of  the  old  pope 
with  exultation,  sallied  out  against  the  marauders.  An 
encounter  took  place  not  far  from  the  city.  The  Ro 
mans  bore  themselves  up  bravely  to  the  shock ;  but, 
after  splintering  their  lances,  they  wheeled  about,  and, 


VICTORIOUS   CAMPAIGN. 


159 


without  striking  another  blow,  abandoned  the  field  to 
the  enemy,  who  followed  them  up  to  the  gates  of  the 
capital.  They  were  so  roughly  handled  in  their  flight 
that  the  valiant  troopers  could  not  be  induced  again  to 
leave  their  walls,  although  Cardinal  Caraffa — who  had 
a  narrow  escape  from  the  enemy — sallied  out  with  a 
handful  of  1iis  followers,  to  give  them  confidence.22 

During  this  time  Alva  was  vigorously  pressing  the 
siege  of  Ostia ;  but,  though  more  than  a  week  had 
elapsed,  the  besieged  showed  no  disposition  to  sur 
render.  At  length  the  Spanish  commander,  on  the 
seventeenth  of  November,  finding  his  ammunition 
nearly  expended,  and  his  army  short  of  provisions, 
determined  on  a  general  assault.  Early  on  the  fol 
lowing  morning,  after  hearing  mass  as  usual,  the  duke 
mounted  his  horse,  and,  riding  among  the  ranks  to 
animate  the  spirits  of  his  soldiers,  gave  orders  for  the 
attack.  A  corps  of  Italians  was  first  detached,  to  scale 
the  works ;  but  they  were  repulsed  with  considerable 
loss.  It  was  found  impossible  for  their  officers  to  rally 
them  and  bring  them  back  to  the  assault.  A  picked 
body  of  Spanish  infantry  was  then  despatched  on  this 
dangerous  service.  With  incredible  difficulty  they 
succeeded  in  scaling  the  ramparts,  under  a  storm  of 
combustibles  and  other  missiles  hurled  down  by  the 
garrison,  and  effected  an  entrance  into  the  place.  But 
here  they  were  met  with  a  courage  as  dauntless  as  their 
own.  The  struggle  was  long  and  desperate.  There 
had  been  no  such  fighting  in  the  course  of  the  cam 
paign.  At  length,  the  duke,  made  aware  of  the  severe 
loss  sustained  by  his  men,  and  of  the  impracticability 

82  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. 


160  WAR    WITH   THE   POPE. 

of  the  attempt,  as  darkness  was  setting  in,  gave  the 
signal  for  retreat.  The  assailants  had  doubtless  the 
worst  of  it  in  the  conflict ;  but  the  besieged,  worn  out 
with  fatigue,  with  their  ammunition  nearly  exhausted, 
and  almost  without  food,  did  not  feel  themselves  in  con 
dition  to  sustain  another  assault  on  the  following  day. 
On  the  nineteenth  of  November,  therefore,  the  morning 
'after  the  conflict,  the  brave  garrison  capitulated,  and 
were  treated  with  honor  as  prisoners  of  war.23 

The  fate  of  the  campaign  seemed  now  to  be  decided. 
The  pope,  with  his  principal  towns  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  his  communications  cut  off  both  with  the 
country  and  the  coast,  may  well  have  felt  his  inability 
to  contend  thus  single-handed  against  the  power  of 
Spain.  At  all  events,  his  subjects  felt  it,  and  they 
were  not  deterred  by  his  arrogant  bearing  from  clam 
oring  loudly  against  the  continuance  of  this  ruinous 
war.  But  Paul  would  not  hear  of  a  peace.  However 
crippled  by  his  late  reverses,  he  felt  confident  of  repair 
ing  them  all  on  the  arrival  of  the  French,  who,  as  he 
now  learned  with  joy,  were  in  full  march  across  the 
territory  of  Milan.  He  was  not  so  disinclined  to  a 
truce,  which  might  give  time  for  their  coming. 

Cardinal  Caraffa,  accordingly,  had  a  conference  with 
the  duke  of  Alva,  and  entered  into  negotiations  with 
him  for  a  suspension  of  arms.  The  proposal  was  not 
unwelcome  to  the  duke,  who,  weakened  by  losses  of 
every  kind,  was  by  no  means  in  condition  at  the  end 

*3  The  details  of  the  siege  of  Ostia  are  given  with  more  or  less 
minuteness  by  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo. 
MS., — Andrea,  Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  72,  et  seq., — Campana,  Vita  del 
Catholico  Don  Filippo  Secondo,  con  le  Guerre  de  suoi  Tempi  (Viccnx.n, 
1605),  torn.  ii.  fol.  146,  147, — Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  ii.  cap.  15. 


VICTORIOUS  CAMPAIGN.  161 

of  an  active  campaign  to  contend  with  a  fresh  array 
under  the  command  of  so  practised  a  leader  as  the 
duke  of  Guise.  He  did  not  care  to  expose  himself  a 
second  time  to  an  encounter  with  the  French  general, 
under  disadvantages  nearly  as  great  as  those  which  had 
foiled  him  at  Metz. 

With  these  amiable  dispositions,  a  truce  was  soon  ar 
ranged  between  the  parties,  to  continue  forty  days.  The 
terms  were  honorable  to  Alva,  since  they  left  him  in 
possession  of  all  his  conquests.  Having  completed  these 
arrangements,  the  Spanish  commander  broke  up  his 
camp  on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Tiber,  recrossed  the 
frontier,  and  in  a  few  days  made  his  triumphant  entry, 
at  the  head  of  his  battalions,  into  the  city  of  Naples.24 

So  ended  the  first  campaign  of  the  war  with  'Rome. 
It  had  given  a  severe  lesson,  that  might  have  shaken 
the  confidence  and  humbled  the  pride  of  a  pontiff  less 
arrogant  than  Paul  the  Fourth.  But  it  served  only  to 
deepen  his  hatred  of  the  Spaniards,  and  to  stimulate 
his  desire  for  vengeance. 

24  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS.— Andrea, 
Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  86,  etseq. — The  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  when 
on  his  way  to  Yuste,  took  a  very  different  view  from  Alva's  of  the 
truce,  rating  the  duke  roundly  for  not  having  followed  up  the  capture 
of  Ostia  by  a  decisive  blow,  instead  of  allowing  the  French  time  to 
enter  Italy  and  combine  with  the  pope. — "  El  emperador  oyo  todo  lo 
que  v.  md.  dize  del  duque  y  de  Italia,  y  ha  tornado  muy  mal  el  haver 
dado  el  duque  oidos  &  suspension  de  armas,  y  mucho  mas  de  haver 
prorrogado  el  plazo,  por  parecelle  que  sera  instrumento  para  que  la 
gente  del  Rey  que  baxava  a  Piamonte  se  juntasse  con  la  del  Papa,  6 
questa  dilacion  sera  necessitar  al  duque,  y  estorvalle  el  effecto  que 
pudiera  hazer,  si  prosiguiera  su  vitoria  despues  de  haber  ganado  a 
Ostia,  y  entre  dientes  dixo  otras  cosas  que  no  pude  comprehender." 
Carta  de  Martin  de  Gaztelu  a  Juan  Vazquez,  Enero  10,  1557,  MS. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

WAR    WITH    THE    POPE. 

Guise  enters  Italy. — Operations  in  the  Abruzzi. — Siege  of  Civitella. — 
Alva  drives  out  the  French. — Rome  menaced  by  the  Spaniards. — 
Paul  consents  to  Peace. — His  subsequent  Career. 

1557- 

WHILE  the  events  recorded  in  the  preceding  pages 
were  passing  in  Italy,  the  French  army,  under  the 
duke  of  Guise,  had  arrived  on  the  borders  of  Piedmont. 
That  commander,  on  leaving  Paris,  found  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  force  consisting  of  twelve  thousand 
infantry,  of  which  five  thousand  were  Swiss,  and  the 
rest  French,  including  a  considerable  number  of  Gas 
cons.  His  cavalry  amounted  to  two  thousand,  and 
he  was  provided  with  twelve  pieces  of  artillery.  In 
addition  to  this,  Guise  was  attended  by  a  gallant  body 
of  French  gentlemen,  young  for  the  most  part,  and 
eager  to  win  laurels  under  the  renowned  defender  of 
Metz. 

The  French  army  met  with  no  opposition  in  its 
passage  through  Piedmont.  The  king  of  Spain  had 
ordered  the  government  of  Milan  to  strengthen  the 
garrisons  of  the  fortresses,  but  to  oppose  no  resistance 
to  the  French,  unless  the  latter  began  hostilities.1 
Some  of  the  duke's  counsellors  would  have  persuaded 

1  Sepulveda,  De  Rebus  gestis  Philippi  II.,  p.  13. 
(162) 


GUISE  ENTERS  ITALY.  163 

him  to  do  so.  His  father-in-law,  the  duke  of  Ferrara, 
in  particular,  who  had  brought  him  a  reinforcement 
of  six  thousand  troops,  strongly  pressed  the  French 
general  to  make  sure  of  the  Milanese  before  penetrating 
to  the  south  ;  otherwise  he  would  leave  a  dangerous 
enemy  in  his  rear.  The  Italian  urged,  moreover,  the 
importance  of  such  a  step  in  giving  confidence  to  the 
Angevine  faction  in  Naples,  and  in  drawing  over  to 
France  those  states  which  hesitated  as  to  their  policy 
or  which  had  but  lately  consented  to  an  alliance  with 
Spain. 

France  at  this  time  exercised  but  little  influence 
in  the  counsels  of  the  Italian  powers.  Genoa,  after 
an  ineffectual  attempt  at  revolution,  was  devoted  to 
Spain.  The  co-operation  of  Cosmo  de'  Medici,  then 
lord  of  Tuscany,  had  been  secured  by  the  cession  of 
Sienna.  The  duke  of  Parma,  who  had  coquetted  for 
some  time  with  the  French  monarch,  was  won  over  to 
Spain  by  the  restoration  of  Placentia,  of  which  he  had 
been  despoiled  by  Charles  the  Fifth.  His  young  son, 
Alexander  Farnese,  was  sent  as  a  hostage,  to  be  edu 
cated  under  Philip's  eye,  at  the  court  of  Madrid, — the 
fruits  of  which  training  were  to  be  gathered  in  the  war 
of  the  Netherlands,  where  he  proved  himself  the  most 
consummate  captain  of  his  time.  Venice,  from  her 
lonely  watch-tower  on  the  Adriatic,  regarded  at  a  dis 
tance  the  political  changes  of  Italy,  prepared  to  profit 
by  any  chances  in  her  own  favor.  Her  conservative 
policy,  however,  prompted  her  to  maintain  things  as 
far  as  possible  in  their  present  position.  She  was  most 
desirous  that  the  existing  equilibrium  should  not  be 
disturbed  by  the  introduction  of  any  new  power  on 


1 64  WAR    WITH  THE  POPE. 

the  theatre  of  Italy;  and  she  had  readily  acquiesced 
in  the  invitation  of  the  duke  of  Alva  to  mediate  an- 
accommodation  between  the  contending  parties.  This 
pacific  temper  found  little  encouragement  from  the 
belligerent  pontiff  who  had  brought  the  war  upon 
Italy. 

The  advice  of  the  duke  of  Ferrara,  however  judi 
cious  in  itself,  was  not  relished  by  his  son-in-law,  the 
duke  of  Guise,  who  was  anxious  to  press  forward  to 
Naples  as  the  proper  scene  of  his  conquests.  The 
pope,  too,  called  on  him,  in  the  most  peremptory 
terms,  to  hasten  his  march,  as  Naples  was  the  object 
of  the  expedition.  The  French  commander  had  the 
address  to  obtain  instructions  to  the  same  effect  from 
his  own  court,  by  which  he  affected  to  be  decided. 
His  Italian  father-in-law  was  so  much  disgusted  by  this 
determination  that  he  instantly  quitted  the  camp  and 
drew  off  his  six  thousand  soldiers,  declaring  that  he 
needed  all  he  could  muster  to  protect  his  own  states 
against  the  troops  of  Milan.2 

Thus  shorn  of  his  Italian  reinforcement,  the  duke  of 
Guise  resumed  his  march,  and,  entering  the  States  of 
the  Church,  followed  down  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic, 
passing  through  Ravenna  and  Rimini ;  then,  striking 
into  the  interior,  he  halted  at  Gesi,  where  he  found 
good  accommodations  for  his  men  and  abundant  forage 
for  the  horses. 

Leaving  his  army  in  their  pleasant  quarters,  he  soon 
after  repaired  to  Rome,  in  order  to  arrange  with  the 
pope  the  plan  of  the  campaign.  He  was  graciously 

•  Nores.  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS.— Andrea, 
Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  165. 


OPERATIONS  IN  THE  ABRUZZL  165 

received  by  Paul,  who  treated  him  with  distinguished 
honor  as  the  loyal  champion  o-f  the  Church.  Em 
boldened  by  the  presence  of  the  French  army  in  his 
dominions,  the  pope  no  longer  hesitated  to  proclaim 
the  renewal  of  the  war  against  Spain.  The  Roman 
levies,  scattered  over  the  Campagna,  assaulted  the 
places  but  feebly  garrisoned  by  the  Spaniards.  Most 
of  them,  including  Tivoli  and  Ostia,  were  retaken ; 
and  the  haughty  bosom  of  the  pontiff  swelled  with 
exultation  as  he  anticipated  the  speedy  extinction  of 
the  Spanish  rule  in  Italy. 

After  some  days  consumed  in  the  Vatican,  Guise  re 
joined  his  army  at  Gesi.  He  was  fortified  by  abundant 
assurances  of  aid  from  his  holiness,  and  he  was  soon 
joined  by  one  of  Paul's  nephews,  the  duke  of  Monte- 
bello,  with  a  slender  reinforcement.  It  was  determined 
to  cross  the  Neapolitan  frontier  at  once,  and  to  begin 
operations  by  the  siege  of  Campli. 

This  was  a  considerable  place,  situated  in  the  midst 
of  a  fruitful  territory.  The  native  population  had 
been  greatly  increased  by  the  influx  of  people  from 
the  surrounding  country,  who  had  taken  refuge  in 
Campli  as  a  place  of  security.  But  they  did  little  for 
its  defence.  It  did  not  long  resist  the  impetuosity  of 
the  French,  who  carried  the  town  by  storm.  The  men 
— all  who  made  resistance — were  put  to  the  sword. 
The  women  were  abandoned  to  the  licentious  soldiery. 
The  houses,  first  pillaged,  were  then  fired  ;  and  the 
once  flourishing  place  was  soon  converted  into  a  heap 
of  smouldering  ruins.  The  booty  was  great,  for  the 
people  of  the  neighborhood  had  brought  their  effects 
thither  for  safety,  and  a  large  amount  of  gold  and 


1 66  WAR    WITH  THE  POPE. 

silver  was  found  in  the  dwellings.  The  cellars,  too, 
were  filled  with  delicate  wines;  and  the  victors  aban 
doned-  themselves  to  feasting  and  wassail,  while  the 
wretched  citizens  wandered  like  spectres  amidst  the 
ruins  of  their  ancient  habitations.3 

The  fate  of  Italy,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  hard 
indeed.  She  had  advanced  far  beyond  the  age  in  most 
of  the  arts  which  belong  to  a  civilized  community. 
Her  cities,  even  her  smaller  towns,  throughout  the 
country,  displayed  the  evidences  of  architectural  taste. 
They  were  filled  with  stately  temples  and  elegant  man 
sions;  the  squares  were  ornamented  with  fountains  of 
elaborate  workmanship;  the  rivers  were  spanned  by 
arches  of  solid  masonry.  The  private  as  well  as  public 
edifices  were  furnished  with  costly  works  of  art,  of 
which  the  value  was  less  in  the  material  than  in  the 
execution.  A  generation  had  scarcely  passed  since 
Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael  had  produced  their  mir 
acles  of  sculpture  and  of  painting;  and  now  Correggio, 
Paul  Veronese,  and  Titian  were  filling  their  country 
with  those  immortal  productions  which  have  been  the 
delight  and  the  despair  of  succeeding  ages.  Letters 
kept  pace  with  art.  The  magical  strains  of  Ariosto  had 
scarcely  died  away  when  a  greater  bard  had  arisen  in 
Tasso,  to  take  up  the  tale  of  Christian  chivalry.  This 
extraordinary  combination  of  elegant  art  and  literary 
culture  was  the  more  remarkable  from  the  contrast 
presented  by  the  condition  of  the  rest  of  Europe,  then 
first  rising  into  the  light  of  a  higher  civilization.  But, 

3  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — Andrea, 
Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  220. — De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii. 
p.  86. — Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iii.  cap.  9. 


SIEGE    OF  CIVITELLA.  167 

with  all  this  intellectual  progress,  Italy  was  sadly  de 
ficient  in  some  qualities  found  among  the  hardier 
sons  of  the  north,  and  which  seem  indispensable  to  a 
national  existence.  She  could  boast  of  her  artists,  her 
poets,  her  politicians ;  but  of  few  real  patriots,  few  who 
rested  their  own  hopes  on  the  independence  of  their 
country.  The  freedom  of  the  old  Italian  republics  had 
passed  away.  There  was  scarcely  one  that  had  not  sur 
rendered  its  liberties  to  a  master.  The  principle  of 
union  for  defence  against  foreign  aggression  was  as  little 
understood  as  the  principle  of  political  liberty  at  home. 
The  states  were  jealous  of  one  another.  The  cities  were 
jealous  of  one  another,  and  were  often  torn  by  factions 
within  themselves.  Thus  their  individual  strength  was 
alike  ineffectual  whether  for  self-government  or  self- 
defence.  The  gift  of  beauty  which  Italy  possessed  in 
so  extraordinary  a  degree  only  made  her  a  more  tempt 
ing  prize  to  the  spoiler,  whom  she  had  not  the  strength 
or  the  courage  to  resist.  The  Turkish  corsair  fell  upon 
her  coasts,  plundered  her  maritime  towns,  and  swept 
off  their  inhabitants  into  slavery.  The  European, 
scarcely  less  barbarous,  crossed  the  Alps,  and,  striking 
into  the  interior,  fell  upon  the  towns  and  hamlets  that 
lay  sheltered  among  the  hills  and  in  the  quiet  valleys, 
and  converted  them  into  heaps  of  ruins.  Ill  fares  it 
with  the  land  which,  in  an  age  of  violence,  has  given 
itself  up  to  the  study  of  the  graceful  and  the  beautiful, 
to  the  neglect  of  those  hardy  virtues  which  can  alone 
secure  a  nation's  independence. 

From  the  smoking  ruins  of  Campli,  Guise  led  his 
troops  against  Civitelia,  a  town  but  a  few  miles  distant. 
It  was  built  round  a  conical  hill,  the  top  of  which  was 


1 68  WAR   WITH   THE   POPE. 

crowned  by  a  fortress  well  lined  with  artillery.  It  was 
an  important  place  for  the  command  of  the  frontier, 
and  the  duke  of  Alva  had  thrown  into  it  a  garrison 
of  twelve  hundred  men  under  the  direction  of  an  ex 
perienced  officer,  the  marquis  of  Santa  Fiore.  The 
French  general  considered  that  the  capture  of  this 
post,  so  soon  following  the  sack  of  Campli,  would 
spread  terror  among  the  Neapolitans,  and  encourage 
those  of  the  Angevine  faction  to  declare  openly  in  his 
favor. 

As  the  place  refused  to  surrender,  he  prepared  to 
besiege  it  in  form,  throwing  up  intrenchments,  and 
only  waiting  for  his  heavy  guns  to  begin  active  hos 
tilities.  He  impatiently  expected  their  arrival  for  some 
days,  when  he  caused  four  batteries  to  be  erected,  to 
operate  simultaneously  against  four  quarters  of  the 
town.  After  a  brisk  cannonade,  which  was  returned 
by  the  besieged  with  equal  spirit,  and  with  still  greater 
loss  to  the  enemy,  from  his  exposed  position,  the  duke, 
who  had  opened  a  breach  in  the  works,  prepared  for  a 
general  assault.  It  was  conducted  with  the  usual  im 
petuosity  of  the  French,  but  was  repulsed  with  courage 
by  the  Italians.  More  than  once  the  assailants  were 
brought  up  to  the  breach,  and  as  often  driven  back 
with  slaughter.  The  duke,  convinced  that  he  had 
been  too  precipitate,  was  obliged  to  sound  a  retreat, 
and  again  renewed  the  cannonade  from  his  batteries, 
keeping  it  up  night  and  day,  though,  from  the  vertical 
direction  of  the  fire,  with  comparatively  little  effect. 
The  French  camp  offered  a  surer  mark  to  the  guns  of 
Civitella. 

The  women  of  the  place  displayed  an  intrepidity 


SIEGE    OF  CIVITELLA.  169 

equal  to  that  of  the  men.  Armed  with  buckler  and 
cuirass,  they  might  be  seen  by  the  side  of  their  hus 
bands  and  brothers,  in  the  most  exposed  situations  on 
the  ramparts ;  and,  as  one  was  shot  down,  another 
stepped  forward  to  take  the  place  of  her  fallen  com 
rade.4  The  fate  of  Campli  had  taught  them  to  expect 
no  mercy  from  the  victor,  and  they  preferred  death  to 
dishonor. 

As  day  after  day  passed  on  in  the  same  monotonous 
manner,  Guise's  troops  became  weary  of  their  inactive 
life.  The  mercurial  spirits  of  the  French  soldier, 
which  overleaped  every  obstacle  in  his  path,  were  often 
found  to  evaporate  in  the  tedium  of  protracted  opera 
tions,  where  there  was  neither  incident  nor  excitement. 
Such  a  state  of  things  was  better  suited  to  the  patient 
and  persevering  Spaniard.  The  men  began  openly  to 
murmur  against  the  pope,  whom  they  regarded  as  the 
cause  of  their  troubles.  They  were  led  by  priests, 
they  said,  "who  knew  much  more  of  praying  than  of 
fighting."5 

Guise  himself  had  causes  of  disgust  with  the  pontiff 
which  he  did  not  care  to  conceal.  For  all  the  splendid 
promises  of  his  holiness,  he  had  received  few  supplies 
either  of  men,  ammunition,  or  money ;  and  of  the 
Angevine  lords  not  one  had  ventured  to  declare  in  his 
favor  or  to  take  service  under  his  banner.  He  urged 
all  this  with  much  warmth  on  the  pope's  nephew,  the 
duke  of  Montebello.  The  Italian  recriminated  as 
warmly,  till  the  dialogue  was  abruptly  ended,  it  is 
said,  by  the  duke  of  Guise  throwing  a  napkin,  or, 

4  Andrea,  Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  226. 

5  Giannone,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  40. 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — H  15 


I7o  WAR   WITH  THE   POPE. 

according  to  some  accounts,  a  dish,  at  the  head  of  his 
ally.6  However  this  maybe,  Montebello  left  the  camp 
in  disgust  and  returned  to  Rome.  But  the  defender 
of  the  Church  was  too  important  a  person  to  quarrel 
with,  and  Paul  deemed  it  prudent,  for  the  present  at 
least,  to  stifle  his  resentment. 

Meanwhile  heavy  rains  set  in,  causing  great  annoy 
ance  to  the  French  troops  in  their  quarters,  spoiling 
their  provisions,  and  doing  great  damage  to  their  pow 
der.  The  same  rain  did  good  service  to  the  besieged, 
by  filling  their  cisterns.  "God,"  exclaimed  the  pro 
fane  Guise,  "must  have  turned  Spaniard."7 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  in  the  north 
of  Naples,  the  duke  of  Alva,  in  the  south,  was  making 
active  preparations  for  the  defence  of  the  kingdom. 
He  had  seen  with  satisfaction  the  time  consumed  by 
his  antagonist,  first  at  Gesi,  and  afterwards  at  the 
siege  of  Civitella;  and  he  had  fully  profited  by  the 
delay.  On  reaching  the  city  of  Naples,  he  had  sum 
moned  a  parliament  of  the  great  barons,  had  clearly 
exposed  the  necessities  of  the  state,  and  demanded  an 
extraordinary  loan  of  two  millions  of  ducats.  The 
loyal  nobles  readily  responded  to  the  call ;  but,  as 
not  more  than  one-third  of  the  whole  amount  could 
be  instantly  raised,  an  order  was  obtained  from  the 
council,  requiring  the  governors  of  the  several  prov 
inces  to  invite  the  great  ecclesiastics  in  their  districts 
to  advance  the  remaining  two-thirds  of  the  loan.  In 
case  they  did  not  consent  with  a  good  grace,  they 

6  Sismondi,  Histoire  des  Frar>9ais,  torn,  xviii.  p.  39. 

7  "  Encendido  de   colera,  vino  a  dezir,  Que  Dios  se  auia  buelto 
Espanol."     Andrea,  Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  228. 


SIEGE    OF  CI VI  TEL  LA. 


171 


were  to  be  forced  to  comply  by  the  seizure  of  their 
revenues.8 

By  another  decree  of  the  council,  the  gold  and  sil 
ver  plate  belonging  to  the  monasteries  and  churches 
throughout  the  kingdom,  after  being  valued,  was  to  be 
taken  for  the  use  of  the  government.  A  quantity  of 
it,  belonging  to  a  city  in  the  Abruzzi,  was  in  fact  put 
up  to  be  sent  to  Naples;  but  it  caused  such  a  tumult 
among  the  people  that  it  was  found  expedient  to  sus 
pend  proceedings  in  the  matter  for  the  present. 

The  viceroy  still  further  enlarged  his  resources  by 
the  sequestration  of  the  revenues  belonging  to  such 
ecclesiastics  as  resided  in  Rome.  By  these  various 
expedients  the  duke  of  Alva  found  himself  in  posses 
sion  of  sufficient  funds  for  carrying  on  the  war  as  he 
desired.  He  mustered  a  force  of  twenty-two,  or,  as 
some  accounts  state,  twenty-five  thousand  men.  Of 
these  three  thousand  only  were  Spanish  veterans,  five 
thousand  were  Germans,  and  the  remainder  Italians, 
chiefly  from  the  Abruzzi,  —  for  the  most  part  raw 
recruits,  on  whom  little  reliance  was  to  be  placed. 
He  had  besides  seven  hundred  men-at-arms  and  fifteen 
hundred  light  horse.  His  army  therefore,  though,  as 
far  as  the  Italians  were  concerned,  inferior  in  disci 
pline  to  that  of  his  antagonist,  was  greatly  superior  in 
numbers.9 

In  a  council  of  war  that  was  called,  some  were  of 
opinion  that  the  viceroy  should  act  on  the  defensive, 
and  await  the  approach  of  the  enemy  in  the  neighbor- 

8  Giannone,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  35. 

9  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — Andrea, 
Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  237. — Ossorio,  Albae  Vita,  torn.  ii.  p.  64. 


172 


WAR   WITH  THE   POPE. 


hood  of  the  capital.  But  Alva  looked  on  this  as  a 
timid  course,  arguing  distrust  in  himself,  and  likely  to 
infuse  distrust  into  his  followers.  He  determined  to 
march  at  once  against  the  enemy  and  prevent  his  gain 
ing  a  permanent  foothold  in  the  kingdom. 

Pescara,  on  the  Adriatic,  was  appointed  as  the  place 
of  rendezvous  for  the  army,  and  Alva  quitted  the  city 
of  Naples  for  that  place  on  the  eleventh  of  April,  1557- 
Here  he  concentrated  his  whole  strength,  and  received 
his  artillery  and  military  stores,  which  were  brought  to 
him  by  water.  Having  reviewed  his  troops,  he  began 
his  march  to  the  north.  On  reaching  Rio  Umano,  he 
detached  a  strong  body  of  troops  to  get  possession  of 
Giulia  Nuova,  a  town  of  some  importance  lately  seized 
by  the  enemy.  Alva  supposed,  and  it  seems  correctly, 
that  the  French  commander  had  secured  this  as  a  good 
place  of  retreat  in  case  of  his  failure  before  Civitella, 
since  its  position  was  such  as  would  enable  him  readily 
to  keep  up  his  communications  with  the  sea.  The 
French  garrison  sallied  out  against  the  Spaniards,  but 
were  driven  back  with  loss;  and,  as  Alva's  troops 
followed  close  in  their  rear,  the  enemy  fled  in  confu 
sion  through  the  streets  of  the  city,  and  left  it  in  the 
hands  of  the  victors.  In  this  commodious  position 
the  viceroy  for  the  present  took  up  his  quarters. 

On  the  approach  of  the  Spanish  army  the  duke  of 
Guise  saw  the  necessity  of  bringing  his  operations 
against  Civitella  to  a  decisive  issue.  He  accordingly, 
as  a  last  effort,  prepared  for  a  general  assault.  But, 
although  it  was  conducted  with  great  spirit,  it  was 
repulsed  with  still  greater  by  the  garrison ;  and  the 
French  commander,  deeply  mortified  at  his  repeated 


SIEGE    OF  CIVITELLA.  I73 

failures,  saw  the  necessity  of  abandoning  the  siege. 
He  could  not  effect  even  this  without  sustaining  some 
loss  from  the  brave  defenders  of  Civitella,  who  sallied 
out  on  his  rear  as  he  drew  off  his  discomfited  troops 
to  the  neighboring  valley  of  Nireto.  Thus  ended  the 
siege  of  Civitella,  which,  by  the  confidence  it  gave  to 
the  loyal  Neapolitans  throughout  the  country,  as  well 
as  by  the  leisure  it  afforded  to  Alva  for  mustering  his 
resources,  may  be  said  to  have  decided  the  fate  of  the 
war.  The  siege  lasted  twenty-two  days,  during  four 
teen  of  which  the  guns  from  the  four  batteries  of  the 
French  had  played  incessantly  on  the  beleaguered  city. 
The  viceroy  was  filled  with  admiration  at  the  heroic 
conduct  of  the  inhabitants,  and,  in  token  of  respect 
for  it,  granted  some  important  immunities  to  be  en 
joyed  forever  by  the  citizens  of  Civitella.  The  women, 
too,  came  in  for  their  share  of  the  honors,  as  whoever 
married  a  maiden  of  Civitella  was  to  be  allowed  the 
same  immunities,  from  whatever  part  of  the  country 
he  might  come.10 

The  two  armies  were  now  quartered  within  a  few 
miles  of  each  other.  Yet  no  demonstration  was  made, 
on  either  side,  of  bringing  matters  to  the  issue  of 
a  battle.  This  was  foreign  to  Alva's  policy,  and  was 
not  to  be  expected  from  Guise,  so  inferior  in  strength 
to  his  antagonist.  On  the  viceroy's  quitting  Giulia 
Nuova,  however,  to  occupy  a  position  somewhat  nearer 

10  The  particulars  of  the  siege  of  Civitella  may  be  found  in  Nores, 
Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS., — Andrea,  Guerra 
de  Roma,  p.  222,  et  seq., — Ossorio,  Albae  Vita,  torn.  ii.  pp.  53-59, — 
Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iii.  cap.  9, — De  Thou,  Histoire  univer- 
selle,  torn.  iii.  p.  87,  et  seq., — etc. 


174 


WAR   WITH  THE  POPE. 


the  French  quarters,  Guise  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to 
remain  there  any  longer,  but,  breaking  up  his  camp, 
retreated,  with  his  whole  army,  across  the  Tronto, 
and,  without  further  delay,  evacuated  the  kingdom  of 
Naples. 

The  Spanish  general  made  no  attempt  to  pursue,  or 
even  to  molest  his  adversary  in  his  retreat.  For  this 
he  has  been  severely  criticised,  more  particularly  as 
the  passage  of  a  river  offers  many  points  of  advan 
tage  to  an  assailant.  But,  in  truth,  Alva  never  resorted 
to  fighting  when  he  could  gain  his  end  without  it.  In 
an  appeal  to  arms,  however  favorable  may  be  the  odds, 
there  must  always  be  some  doubt  as  to  the  result.  But 
the  odds  here  were  not  so  decisively  on  the  side  of  the 
Spaniards  as  they  appeared.  The  duke  of  Guise  car 
ried  off  his  battalions  in  admirable  order,  protecting 
his  rear  with  the  flower  of  his  infantry  and  with  his 
cavalry,  in  which  last  he  was  much  superior  to  his 
enemy.  Thus  the  parts  of  the  hostile  armies  likely  to 
have  been  brought  into  immediate  conflict  would  have 
afforded  no  certain  assurance  of  success  to  the  Span 
iards.  Alva's  object  had  been  not  so  much  to  defeat 
the  French  as  to  defend  Naples.  This  he  had  now 
achieved,  with  but  little  loss;  and,  rather  than  incur 
the  risk  of  greater,  he  was  willing,  in  the  words  of  an 
old  proverb,  to  make  a  bridge  of  silver  for  the  flying 
foe."  In  the  words  of  Alva  himself,  "  he  had  no  idea 
of  staking  the  kingdom  of  Naples  against  the  em 
broidered  coat  of  the  duke  of  Guise."  I2 

11  "  Quiso  guardar  el  precepto  de  guerra  que  es :  Hazer  la  puente 
dc  plata  al  enemigo,  que  se  va."     Andrea,  Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  285. 
"  "No  pensava  jugar  el  Reyno  de  Napoles  contra  una  casaca  de 


ROME   MENACED   BY  THE   SPANIARDS.      175 

On  the  retreat  of  the  French,  Alva  laid  siege  at 
once  to  two  or  three  places,  of  no  great  note,  in  the 
capture  of  which  he  and  his  lieutenants  were  guilty  of 
the  most  deliberate  cruelty;  though  in  the  judgment 
of  the  chronicler,  it  was  not  cruelty,  but  a  wholesome 
severity,  designed  as  a  warning  to  such  petty  places 
not  to  defy  the  royal  authority.13  Soon  after  this, 
Alva  himself  crossed  the  Tronto,  and  took  up  a  posi 
tion  not  far  removed  from  the  French,  who  lay  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Ascoli.  •  Although  the  two  armies 
were  but  a  few  miles  asunder,  there  was  no  attempt  at 
hostilities,  with  the  exception  of  a  skirmish  in  which 
but  a  small  number  on  either  side  were  engaged,  and 
which  terminated  in  favor  of  the  Spaniards.  This  state 
of  things  was  at  length  ended  by  a  summons  from  the 
pope  to  the  French  commander  to  draw  nearer  to 
Rome,  as  he  needed  his  presence  for  the  protection  of 
the  capital.  The  duke,  glad,  no  doubt,  of  so  honor 
able  an  apology  for  his  retreat,  and  satisfied  with 
having  so  long  held  his  ground  against  a  force  su 
perior  to  his  own,  fell  back,  in  good  order,  upon 
Tivoli,  which,  as  it  commanded  the  great  avenues  to 
Rome  on  the  east  and  afforded  good  accommodations 
for  his  troops,  he  made  his  head-quarters  for  the  pres 
ent.  The  manner  in  which  the  duke  of  Alva  adhered 
to  the  plan  of  defensive  operations  settled  at  the  be 
ginning  of  the  campaign,  and  that,  too,  under  circum- 

brocado  del  Duque  de  Guisa."    Vera  y  Figueroa,  Resultas  de  la  Vida 
del  Duqine  de  Alva,  p.  66. 

*3  "  Quiso  usar  alii  desta  severidad,  no  por  crueza,  sino  para  dar 
exemplo  a  los  otros,  que  no  se  atreuiesse  un  lugarejo  a  defenderse  de 
un  exercito  real."  Andrea,  Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  292. 


176  WAR   WITH  THE   POPE. 

stances  which  would  have  tempted  most  men  to  depart 
from  such  a  plan,  is  a  remarkable  proof  of  his  per 
severance  and  inflexible  spirit.  It  proves,  moreover, 
the  empire  which  he  held  over  the  minds  of  his  fol 
lowers,  that,  under  such  circumstances,  he  could  main 
tain  implicit  obedience  to  his  orders. 

The  cause  of  the  pope's  alarm  was  the  rapid  suc 
cesses  of  Alva's  confederate,  Mark  Antony  Colonna, 
who  had  defeated  the  papal  levies,  and  taken  one 
place  after  another  in  the  Campagna,  till  the  Romans 
began  to  tremble  for  their  capital.  Colonna  was  now 
occupied  with  the  siege  of  Segni,  a  place  of  consider 
able  importance;  and  the  duke  of  Alva,  relieved  of 
the  presence  of  the  French,  resolved  to  march  to  his 
support.  He  accordingly  recrossed  the  Tronto,  and, 
passing  through  the  Neapolitan  territory,  halted  for 
some  days  at  Sora.  He  then  traversed  the  frontier, 
but  had  not  penetrated  far  into  the  Campagna  when 
he  received  tidings  of  the  fall  of  Segni.  That  strong 
place,  after  a  gallant  defence,  had  been  taken  by  storm. 
All  the  usual  atrocities  were  perpetrated  by  the  brutal 
soldiery.  Even  the  sanctity  of  the  convents  did  not 
save  them  from  pollution.  It  was  in  vain  that  Colonna 
interfered  to  prevent  these  excesses.  The  voice  of 
authority  was  little  heeded  in  the  tempest  of  passion. 
It  mattered  little,  in  that  age,  into  whose  hands  a  cap 
tured  city  fell ;  Germans,  French,  Italians,  it  was  all 
the  same.  The  wretched  town,  so  lately  flourishing, 
it  might  be,  in  all  the  pride  of  luxury  and  wealth,  was 
claimed  as  the  fair  spoil  of  the  victors.  It  was  their 
prize-money,  which  served  in  default  of  payment  of 
their  long  arrears, — usually  long  in  those  days;  and  it 


ROME  MENACED   BY  THE   SPANIARDS.      177 

was  a  mode  of  payment  as  convenient  for  the  general 
as  for  his  soldiers.14 

The  fall  of  Segni  caused  the  greatest  consternation 
in  the  capital.  The  next  thing,  it  was  said,  would  be 
to  assault  the  capital  itself.  Paul  the  Fourth,  incapable 
of  fear,  was  filled  with  impotent  fury.  "  They  have 
taken  Segni,"  he  said,  in  a  conclave  of  the  cardinals; 
"  they  have  murdered  the  people,  destroyed  their 
property,  fired  their  dwellings.  Worse  than  this,  they 
will  next  pillage  Palliano.  Even  this  will  not  fill  up 
the  measure  of  their  cruelty.  They  will  sack  the  city 
of  Rome  itself;  nor  will  they  respect  even  my  person. 
But,  for  myself,  I  long  to  be  with  Christ,  and  await 
without  fear  the  crown  of  martyrdom."15  Paul  the 
Fourth,  after  having  brought  this  tempest  upon  Italy, 
began  to  consider  himself  a  martyr  ! 

Yet  even  in  this  extremity,  though  urged  on  all 
sides  to  make  concessions,  he  would  abate  nothing  of 
his  haughty  tone.  He  insisted,  as  a  sine  qua  non,  that 
Alva  should  forthwith  leave  the  Roman  territory  and 
restore  his  conquests.  When  these  conditions  were 
reported  to  the  duke,  he  coolly  remarked  that  "his 
holiness  seemed  to  be  under  the  mistake  of  supposing 
that  his  own  army  was  before  Naples,  instead  of  the 
Spanish  army  being  at  the  gates  of  Rome."16 

*4  Andrea,  Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  302. — Ossorio,  Albae  Vita,  torn.  ii. 
p.  96. — Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. 

*s  "  Los  enemigos  ban  tornado  a  Sena  con  saco,  muerte,  y  fuego. 
.  .  .  Entraran  en  Roma,  y  la  saqueran,  y  prenderan  a  mi  persona;  y 
yo,  que  desseo  ser  co  Christo,  aguardo  sin  miedo  la  corona  del  mar- 
tirio."  Andrea,  Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  303. — "  Si  mostro  prontissimo  e 
disposto  di  sostenere  il  martirio."  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e 
Filippo  Secondo,  MS. 

*6  Andrea,  Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  306. 
H* 


I78  WAR   WITH  THE   POPE. 

After  the  surrender  of  Segni,  Alva  effected  a  junc 
tion  with  the  Italian  forces,  and  marched  to  the  town 
of  Colona,  in  the  Campagna,  where  for  the  present  he 
quartered  his  army.  Here  he  formed  the  plan  of  an 
enterprise  the  adventurous  character  of  which  it  seems 
difficult  to  reconcile  with  his  habitual  caution.  This 
was  a  night-assault  on  Rome.  He  did  not  commu 
nicate  his  whole  purpose  to  his  officers,  but  simply 
ordered  them  to  prepare  to  march  on  the  following 
night,  the  twenty-sixth  of  August,  against  a  neighbor 
ing  city,  the  name  of  which  he  did  not  disclose.  It 
was  a  wealthy  place,  he  said,  but  he  was  most  anxious 
that  no  violence  should  be  offered  to  the  inhabitants, 
in  either  their  persons  or  property.  The  soldiers 
should  be  forbidden  even  to  enter  the  dwellings ;  but 
he  promised  that  the  loss  of  booty  should  be  compen 
sated  by  increase  of  pay.  The  men  were  to  go  lightly 
armed,  without  baggage,  and  with  their  shirts  over 
their  mail,  affording  the  best  means  of  recognizing  one 
another  in  the  dark. 

The  night  was  obscure,  but  unfortunately  a  driving 
storm  of  rain  set  in,  which  did  such  damage  to  the 
roads  as  greatly  to  impede  the  march,  and  the  dawn 
was  nigh  at  hand  when  the  troops  reached  the  place 
of  destination.  To  their  great  surprise,  they  then 
understood  that  the  object  of  attack  was  Rome  itself. 

Alva  halted  at  a  short  distance  from  the  city,  in  a 
meadow,  and  sent  forward  a  small  party  to  reconnoitre 
the  capital,  which  seemed  to  slumber  in  quiet.  But  on 
a  nearer  approach  the  Spaniards  saw  a  great  light,  as 
if  occasioned  by  a  multitude  of  torches,  that  seemed 
glancing  to  and  fro  within  the  walls,  inferring  some 


ROME  MENACED   BY  THE   SPANIARDS. 


179 


great  stir  among  the  inhabitants  of  that  quarter.  Soon 
after  this,  a  few  horsemen  were  seen  to  issue  from  one 
of  the  gates  and  ride  off  in  the  direction  of  the  French 
camp  at  Tivoli.  The  duke,  on  receiving  the  report, 
was  satisfied  that  the  Romans  had,  in  some  way  or 
other,  got  notice  of  his  design;  that  the  horsemen  had 
gone  to  give  the  alarm  to  the  French  in  Tjvoli ;  and 
that  he  should  soon  find  himself  between  two  enemies. 
Not  relishing  this  critical  position,  he  at  once  aban 
doned  his  design,  and  made  a  rapid  countermarch  on 
the  place  he  had  left  the  preceding  evening. 

In  his  conjectures  the  duke  was  partly  in  the  right 
and  partly  in  the  wrong.  The  lights  which  were  seen 
glancing  within  the  town  were  owing  to  the  watchful 
ness  of  Caraffa,  who,  from  some  apprehensions  of  an 
attack,  in  consequence  of  information  he  had  received 
of  preparations  in  the  Spanish  camp,  was  patrolling 
this  quarter  before  daybreak  to  see  that  all  was  safe ; 
but  the  horsemen  who  left  the  gates  at  that  early  hour 
in  the  direction  of  the  French  camp  were  far  from 
thinking  that  hostile  battalions  lay  within  gunshot  of 
their  walls.17 

Such  is  the  account  we  have  of  this  strange  affair. 
Some  historians  assert  that  it  was  not  the  duke's 
design  to  attack  Rome,  but  only  to  make  a  feint,  and, 
by  the  panic  which  he  would  create,  to  afford  the  pope 
a  good  pretext  for  terminating  the  war.  In  support  of 
this,  it  is  said  that  he  told  his  son  Ferdinand,  just 

X7  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — An 
drea,  Guerra  tie  Roma,  pp.  306-311. —  Relazione  di  Bernardo  Nava- 
gero. — Ossorio,  Albae  Vita,  torn.  ii.  p.  117,  et  seq. — Cabrera,  Filipe 
Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  n. 


l8o  WAR   WITH   THE   POPE. 

before  his  departure,  that  he  feared  it  would  be  im 
possible  to  prevent  the  troops  from  sacking  the  city  if 
they  once  set  foot  in  it.18  Other  accounts  state  that  it 
was  no  feint,  but  a  surprise  meditated  in  good  earnest, 
and  defeated  only  by  the  apparition  of  the  lights  and 
the  seeming  state  of  preparation  in  which  the  place 
was  found.  Indeed,  one  writer  asserts  that  he  saw  the 
scaling-ladders,  brought  by  a  corps  of  two  hundred 
arquebusiers,  who  were  appointed  to  the  service  of 
mounting  the  walls.19 

The  Venetian  minister,  Navagero,  assures  us  that 
Alva's  avowed  purpose  was  to  secure  the  person  of  his 
holiness,  which  he  thought  must  bring  the  war  at  once 
to  a  close.  The  duke's  uncle,  the  cardinal  of  Sangia- 
como,  had  warned  his  nephew,  according  to  the  same 
authority,  not  to  incur  the  fate  of  their  countrymen 
who  had  served  under  the  Constable  de  Bourbon  at 
the  sack  of  Rome,  all  of  whom,  sooner  or  later,  had 
come  to  a  miserable  end.20  This  warning  may  have 
made  some  impression  on  the  mind  of  Alva,  who,  how 
ever  inflexible  by  nature,  had  conscientious  scruples  of 
his  own,  and  was,  no  doubt,  accessible  as  others  of  his 
time  to  arguments  founded  on  superstition. 

We   cannot  but   admit    that    the  whole   affair — the 

18  "  Dixo  a  Don  Fernando  de  Toledo  su  hijo  estas  palabras :  Temo 
que  hem os  de  saquear  a  Roma,  y  no  querria."  Andrea,  Guerra  de 
Roma,  p.  312. 

»9  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

20  "  II  Cardinal  Sangiacomo,  suo  zio,  dopo  la  tregua  di  quaranta 
giorni,  fu  a  vederlo  e  gli  disse :  Figliuol  mio,  avete  fatto  bene  a  non 
entrare  in  Roma,  come  so  che  avete  potuto ;  e  vi  esorto  che  non  lo 
facciate  mai ;  perche,  tutti  quelli  della  nostra  nazione  che  si  trovarono 
all'  ultimo  sacco,  sono  capitati  male."  Relazione  di  Bernardo  Nava 
gero. 


ROME  MENACED  BY  THE   SPANIARDS.      181 

preparations  for  the  assault,  the  counsel  to  the  officers, 
and  the  sudden  retreat  on  suspicion  of  a  discovery — 
all  look  very  much  like  earnest.  It  is  quite  possible 
that  the  duke,  as  the  Venetian  asserts,  may  have  in 
tended  nothing  beyond  the  seizure  of  the  pope.  But 
that  the  matter  would  have  stopped  there,  no  one 
will  believe.  Once  fairly  within  the  walls,  even  the 
authority  of  Alva  would  have  been  impotent  to  restrain 
the  license  of  the  soldiery;  and  the  same  scenes  might 
have  been  acted  over  again  as  at  the  taking  of  Rome 
under  the  Constable  de  Bourbon,  or  on  the  capture  of 
the  ancient  capital  by  the  Goths. 

When  the  Romans,  on  the  following  morning, 
learned  the  peril  they  had  been  in  during  the  night, 
and  that  the  enemy  had  been  prowling  round,  like 
wolves  about  a  sheepfold,  ready  to  rush  in  upon  their 
sleeping  victims,  the  whole  city  was  seized  with  a 
panic.  All  the  horrors  of  the  sack  by  the  Constable 
de  Bourbon  rose  up  to  their  imaginations, — or  rather 
memories,  for  many  there  were  who  were  old  enough 
to  remember  that  terrible  day.  They  loudly  clamored 
for  peace  before  it  was  too  late ;  and  they  pressed  the 
demand  in  a  manner  which  showed  that  the  mood  of 
the  people  was  a  dangerous  one.  Strozzi,  the  most 
distinguished  of  the  Italian  captains,  plainly  told  the 
pope  that  he  had  no  choice  but  to  come  to  terms  with 
the  enemy  at  once.21 

Paul  was  made  more  sensible  of  this  by  finding  now, 
in  his  greatest  need,  the  very  arm  withdrawn  from  him 
on  which  he  most  leaned  for  support.  Tidings  had 
reached  the  French  camp  of  the  decisive  victory  gained 

21  Relazione  di  Bernardo  Navagero. 
Philip.— VOL.  I.  16 


1 82  WAR  WITH  THE   POPE. 

by  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Quentin,  and  they  were  fol 
lowed  by  a  summons  from  the  king  to  the  duke  of 
Guise  to  return  with  his  army,  as  speedily  as  possible, 
for  the  protection  of  Paris.  The  duke,  who  was  prob 
ably  not  unwilling  to  close  a  campaign  which  had  been 
so  barren  of  laurels  to  the  French,  declared  that  "  no 
chains  were  strong  enough  to  keep  him  in  Italy."  He 
at  once  repaired  to  the  Vatican,  and  there  laid  before 
his  holiness  the  commands  of  his  master.  The  case 
was  so  pressing  that  Paul  could  not  in  reason  oppose 
the  duke's  departure.  But  he  seldom  took  counsel  of 
reason,  and  in  a  burst  of  passion  he  exclaimed  to  Guise, 
"Go,  then;  and  take  with  you  the  consciousness  of 
having  done  little  for  your  king,  still  less  for  the 
Church,  and  nothing  for  your  own  honor."22 

Negotiations  were  now  opened  for  an  accommodation 
between  the  belligerents,  at  the  town  of  Cavi.  Car 
dinal  Caraffa  appeared  in  behalf  of  his  uncle,  the  pope, 
and  the  duke  of  Alva  for  the  Spaniards.  Through 
the  mediation  of  Venice,  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
were  finally  settled,  on  the  fourteenth  of  September, 
although  the  inflexible  pontiff  still  insisted  on  conces 
sions  nearly  as  extravagant  as  those  he  had  demanded 
before.  It  was  stipulated  in  a  preliminary  article  that  the 
duke  of  Alva  should  publicly  ask  pardon,  and  receive 
absolution,  for  having  borne  arms  against  the  holy  see. 
"Sooner  than  surrender  this  point,"  said  Paul,  "I 
would  see  the  whole  world  perish ;  and  this,  not  so  much 
for  my  own  sake  as  for  the  honor  of  Jesus  Christ."  23 

It  was  provided  by  the  treaty  that  the  Spanish  troops 

22  Sismondi,  Histoire  des  Fran9ais,  torn,  xviii.  p.  41. 
*3  Giannone,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  43. 


PAUL    CONSENTS   TO   PEACE.  183 

should  be  immediately  withdrawn  from  the  territory  of 
the  Church,  that  all  the  places  taken  from  the  Church 
should  be  at  once  restored,  and  that  the  French  army 
should  be  allowed  a  free  passage  to  their  own  country. 
Philip  did  not  take  so  good  care  of  his  allies  as  Paul 
did  of  his.  Colonna,  who  had  done  the  cause  such 
good  servic  e,  was  not  even  reinstated  in  the  possessions 
of  which  the  pope  had  deprived  him.  But  a  secret 
article  provided  that  his  claims  should  be  determined 
hereafter  by  the  joint  arbitration  of  the  pontiff  and  the 
king  of  Spain.24 

The  treaty  was,  in  truth,  one  which,  as  Alva  bitterly 
remarked,  "seemed  to  have  been  dictated  by  the  van- 
quibhed  rather  than  by  the  victor."  It  came  hard  to 
the  duke  to  execute  it,  especially  the  clause  relating  to 
himself.  "  Were  I  the  king,"  said  he,  haughtily,  "his 
holiness  should  send  one  of  his  nephews  to  Brussels,  to 
sue  for  my  pardon,  instead  of  my  general's  suing  for 
his."  2S  But  Alva  had  no  power  to  consult  his  own  will 
in  the  matter.  The  orders  from  Philip  were  peremp 
tory,  to  come  to  some  terms,  if  possible,  with  the  pope. 
Philip  had  long  since  made  up  his  own  mind  that 
neither  profit  nor  honor  was  to  be  derived  from  a  war 
with  the  Church, — a  war  not  only  repugnant  to  his 
own  feelings,  but  which  placed  him  in  a  false  position 
and  one  most  prejudicial  to  his  political  interests. 

**  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — An 
drea,  Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  314. — De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn, 
iii.  p.  128. — Giannone,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  45. — Ossorio, 
Alboe  Vita,  torn.  ii.  p.  131. 

25  "  Hoggi  il  mio  Re  ha  fatto  una  gran  sciocchezza,  e  se  io  fossi 
stato  in  suo  luogo,  et  egli  nel  mio,  il  Cardinal  Carafa  sarebbe  andato 
in  Fiandra  a  far  quelle  stesse  sommissioni  a  sua  Maesta  che  io  vengo 
hora  di  fare  a  sua  Santita."  Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  293. 


1 84  WAR  WITH  THE   POPE. 

The  news  of  peace  filled  the  Romans  with  a  joy  great 
in  proportion  to  their  former  consternation.  Nor  was 
this  joy  much  diminished  by  a  calamity  which  at  any 
other  time  would  have  thrown  the  city  into  mourning. 
The  Tiber,  swollen  by  the  autumnal  rains,  rose  above 
its  banks,  sweeping  away  houses  and  trees  in  its  fury, 
drowning  men  and  cattle,  and  breaking  down  a  large 
piece  of  the  wall  that  surrounded  the  city.  It  was  well 
that  this  accident  had  not  occurred  a  few  days  earlier, 
when  the  enemy  was  at  the  gates.26 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  September,  1557,  the  duke 
of  Alva  made  his  public  entrance  into  Rome.  He  was 
escorted  by  the  papal  guard,  dressed  in  its  gay  uniform. 
It  was  joined  by  the  other  troops  in  the  city,  who  on 
this  holiday  service  did  as  well  as  better  soldiers.  On 
entering  the  gates,  the  concourse  was  swelled  by  thou 
sands  of  citizens,  who  made  the  air  ring  with  their 
acclamations,  as  they  saluted  the  Spanish  general  with 
the  titles  of  Defender  and  Liberator  of  the  capital. 
The  epithets  might  be  thought  an  indifferent  compli 
ment  to  their  own  government.  In  this  state  the  pro 
cession  moved  along,  like  the  triumph  of  a  conqueror 
returned  from  his  victorious  campaigns  to  receive  the 
wreath  of  laurel  in  the  capitol. 

On  reaching  the  Vatican,  the  Spanish  commander 
fell  on  his  knees  before  the  j  ope  and  asked  his  pardon 
for  the  offence  of  bearing  arms  against  the  Church. 
Paul,  soothed  by  this  show  of  concession,  readily 
granted  absolution.  He  paid  the  duke  the  distin 
guished  honor  of  giving  him  a  seat  at  his  own  table  ; 
while  he  complimented  the  duchess  by  sending  her 

26  Rclazione  di  Bernardo  Navagero. 


PAUL    CONSENTS   TO   PEACE.  ^5 

the  consecrated  golden  rose,  reserved  only  for  royal 
persons  and  illustrious  champions  of  the  Church.27 

Yet  the  haughty  spirit  of  Alva  saw  in  all  this  more  of 
humiliation  than  of  triumph.  His  conscience,  like  that 
of  his  master,  was  greatly  relieved  by  being  discharged 
from  the  responsibilities  of  such  a  war.  But  he  had 
also  a  military  conscience,  which  seemed  to  be  quite  as 
much  scandalized  by  the  conditions  of  the  peace.  He 
longed  to  be  once  more  at  Naples,  where  the  state  of 
things  imperatively  required  his  presence.  When  he 
returned  there,  he  found  abundant  occupation  in  reform 
ing  the  abuses  which  had  grown  out  of  the  late  confusion, 
and  especially  in  restoring,  as  far  as  possible,  the  shat 
tered  condition  of  the  finances, — a  task  hardly  less  diffi 
cult  than  that  of  driving  out  the  French  from  Naples.28 

Thus  ended  the  war  with  Paul  the  Fourth, — a  war 
into  which  that  pontiff  had  plunged  without  prepara 
tion,  which  he  had  conducted  without  judgment  and 
terminated  without  honor.  Indeed,  it  brought  little 
honor  to  any  of  the  parties  concerned  in  it,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  full  measure  of  those  calamities 
which  always  follow  in  the  train  of  war. 

The  French  met  with  the  same  fate  which  uniformly 

27  Giannone,  Istoria  di   Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  45. — Nores,  Guerra  fra 
Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. —  Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn, 
i.  p.  293. — Andrea,  Guerra  de  Roma,  p.  316. 

28  Charles  the  Fifth,  who  received  tidings  of  the  peace  at  Yuste,  was 
as  much  disgusted  with  the  terms  of  it  as  the  duke  himself.     He  even 
vented  his  indignation  against  the  duke,  as  if  he  had  been  the  author 
of  the  peace.     He  would  not  consent  to  read  the  despatches  which 
Alva  sent  to  him,  saying  that  he  already  knew  enough  ;  and  for  a  long 
time  after  "  he  was  heard  to  mutter  between  his  teeth,"  in  a  tone  which 
plainly  showed  the  nature  of  his  thoughts.     Retiro  y  Estancia,  ap. 
Mignet,  Charles-Quint,  p.  307. 

1 6* 


i86  WAR  WITH  THE  POPE. 

befell  them  when,  lured  by  the  phantom  of  military 
glory,  they  crossed  the  Alps  to  lay  waste  the  garden  of 
Italy, — in  the  words  of  their  own  proverb,  "the  grave 
of  the  French."  The  duke  of  Guise,  after  a  vexatious 
campaign,  in  which  it  was  his  greatest  glory  that  he  had 
sustained  no  actual  defeat,  thought  himself  fortunate 
in  being  allowed  a  free  passage,  with  the  shattered 
remnant  of  his  troops,  back  to  his  own  country. 
Naples,  besides  the  injuries  she  had  sustained  on  her 
borders,  was  burdened  with  a  debt  which  continued  to 
press  heavily  for  generations  to  come.  Nor  were  her 
troubles  ended  by  the  peace.  In  the  spring  of  the 
following  year,  1558,  a  Turkish  squadron  appeared  off 
Calabria;  and,  running  down  the  coast,  the  Moslems 
made  a  landing  on  several  points,  sacked  some  of  the 
principal  towns,  butchered  the  inhabitants,  or  swept 
them  off  into  hopeless  slavery.99  Such  were  some  of 
the  blessed  fruits  of  the  alliance  between  the  grand 
seignior  and  the  head  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Soly- 
man  had  come  into  the  league  at  the  invitation  of  the 
Christian  princes.  But  it  was  not  found  so  easy  to  lay 
the  spirit  of  mischief  as  it  had  been  to  raise  it. 

The  weight  of  the  war,  however,  fell,  as  was  just, 
most  heavily  on  the  author  of  it.  Paul,  from  his 
palace  of  the  Vatican,  could  trace  the  march  of  the 
enemy  by  the  smoking  ruins  of  the  Campagna.  He 
saw  his  towns  sacked,  his  troops  scattered,  his  very 
capital  menaced,  his  subjects  driven  by  ruinous  taxes  to 
the  verge  of  rebellion.  Even  peace,  when  it  did  come, 
secured  to  him  none  of  the  objects  for  which  he  had 
contended  ;  while  he  had  the  humiliating  consciousness 
=9  Giannone,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  46. 


PAUL    CONSENTS   TO   PEACE.  187 

that  he  owed  this  peace,  not  to  his  own  arms,  but  to 
the  forbearance — or  the  superstition — of  his  enemies. 
One  lesson  he  might  have  learned, — that  the  thunders 
of  the  Vatican  could  no  longer  strike  terror  into  the 
hearts  of  princes,  as  in  the  days  of  the  Crusades. 

In  this  war  Paul  had  called  in  the  French  to  aid  him 
in  driving  out  the  Spaniards.  The  French,  he  said, 
might  easily  be  dislodged  hereafter;  "but  the  Span 
iards  were  like  dog-grass,  which  is  sure  to  strike  root 
wherever  it  is  cast."  This  was  the  last  great  effort  that 
was  made  to  overturn  the  Spanish  power  in  Naples ; 
and  the  sceptre  of  that  kingdom  continued  to  be  trans 
mitted  in  the  dynasty  of  Castile  with  as  little  opposition 
as  that  of  any  other  portion  of  its  broad  empire. 

Being  thus  relieved  of  his  military  labors,  Paul  set 
about  those  great  reforms,  the  expectation  of  which 
had  been  the  chief  inducement  to  his  election.  But 
first  he  gave  a  singular  proof  of  self-command,  in  the 
reforms  which  he  introduced  into  his  own  family. 
Previously  to  his  election,  no  one,  as  we  have  seen, 
had  declaimed  more  loudly  than  Paul  against  nepo 
tism, —  the  besetting  sin  of  his  predecessors,  who, 
most  of  them  old  men  and  without  children,  naturally 
sought  a  substitute  for  these  in  their  nephews  and  those 
nearest  of  kin.  Paul's  partiality  for  his  nephews  was 
made  the  more  conspicuous  by  the  profligacy  of  their 
characters.  Yet  the  real  bond  which  held  the  parties 
together  was  hatred  of  the  Spaniards.  When  peace 
came,  and  this  bond  of  union  was  dissolved,  Paul 
readily  opened  his  ears  to  the  accusations  against  his 
kinsmen.  Convinced  at  length  of  their  unworthiness 
and  of  the  flagrant  manner  in  which  they  had  abused 


1 88  WAR   WITH  THE   POPE. 

his  confidence,  he  deprived  the  Caraffas  of  all  their 
offices,  and  banished  them  to  the  farthest  part  of  his 
dominions.  By  the  sterner  sentence  of  his  successor, 
two  of  the  brothers,  the  duke  and  the  cardinal,  perished 
by  the  hand  of  the  public  executioner.30 

After  giving  this  proof  of  mastery  over  his  own  feel 
ings,  Paul  addressed  himself  to  those  reforms  which 
had  engaged  his  attention  in  early  life.  He  tried  to 
enforce  a  stricter  disci pline  and  greater  regard  for 
morals,  both  in  the  religious  orders  and  the  secular 
clergy.  Above  all,  he  directed  his  efforts  against  the 
Protestant  heresy,  which  had  begun  to  show  itself  in 
the  head  of  Christendom,  as  it  had  long  since  done  in 
the  extremities.  The  course  he  adopted  was  perfectly 
characteristic.  Scorning  the  milder  methods  of  argu 
ment  and  persua-sion,  he  resorted  wholly  to  persecution. 
The  Inquisition,  he  declared,  was  the  true  battery  with 
which  to  assail  the  defences  of  the  heretic.  He  suited 
the  action  so  well  to  the  word  that  in  a  short  time  the 
prisons  of  the  Holy  Office  were  filled  with  the  accused. 
In  the  general  distrust  no  one  felt  himself  safe,  and  a 
panic  was  created  scarcely  less  than  that  felt  by  the 
inhabitants  when  the  Spaniards  were  at  their  gates. 

Happily,  their  fears  were  dispelled  by  the  death  of 
Paul,  which  took  place  suddenly,  from  a  fever,  on  the 
eighteenth  of  August,  1559,  in  the  eighty-third  year 
of  his  age,  and  fifth  of  his  pontificate.  Before  the 
breath  was  out  of  his  body,  the  populace  rose  en  masse, 
broke  open  the  prisons  of  the  Inquisition,  and  liberated 
all  who  were  confined  there.  They  next  attacked  the 

3°  Giannone,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  50. — Nores,  Guerra  fra 
Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. 


PAUL'S  SUBSEQUENT  CAREER.  ^9 

house  of  the  grand  inquisitor,  which  they  burned  to 
the  ground  ;  and  that  functionary  narrowly  escaped 
with  his  life.  They  tore  down  the  scutcheons,  bearing 
the  arms  of  the  family  of  Caraffa,  which  were  affixed 
to  the  public  edifices.  They  wasted  their  rage  on  the 
senseless  statue  of  the  pope,  which  they  overturned, 
and,  breaking  off  the  head,  rolled  it,  amidst  the  groans 
and  execrations  of  the  by-standers,  into  the  Tiber. 
Such  was  the  fate  of  the  reformer  who,  in  his  reforms, 
showed  no  touch  of  humanity,  no  sympathy  with  the 
sufferings  of  his  species.31 

Yet,  with  all  its  defects,  there  is  something  in  the 
character  of  Paul  the  Fourth  that  may  challenge  our 
admiration.  His  project — renewing  that  of  Julius  the 
Second — of  driving  out  the  barbarians  from  Italy  was 
nobly  conceived,  though  impracticable.  "Whatever 
others  may  feel,  I  at  least  will  have  some  care  for  my 
country, ".he  once  said  to  the  Venetian  ambassador. 
"  If  my  voice  is  unheeded,  it  will  at  least  be  a  conso 
lation  to  me  to  reflect  that  it  has  been  raised  in  such 
a  cause,  and  that  it  will  one  day  be  said  that  an  old 
Italian,  on  the  verge  of  the  grave,  who  might  be 
thought  to  have  nothing  better  to  do  than  to  give  him 
self  up  to  repose  and  weep  over  his  sins,  had  his  soul 
filled  with  this  lofty  design."32 

3*  Nores,  Guerra  fra  Paolo  Quarto  e  Filippo  Secondo,  MS. — Gian- 
none,  Istoria  di  Napoli,  torn.  x.  p.  50. 

32  "  Delia  quale  se  altri  non  voleva  aver  cura,  voleva  almeno  averla 
esso  ;  e  sebbene  i  suoi  consigli  non  fossero  uditi,  avrebbe  almeno  la 
consolazione  di  avere  avuto  quest'  animo,  e  che  si  dicesse  un  giorno : 
che  un  vecchio  italiano  che,  essendo  vicino  alia  morte,  doveva  atten- 
dere  a  riposare  e  a  piangere  i  suoi  peccati,  avesse  avuto  tanto  aid 
disigni."  Relazione  di  Bernardo  Navagero. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

WAR   WITH    FRANCE. 

England  joins  in  the  War. — Philip's  Preparations. — Siege  of  St. 
Quentin.— French  Army  routed. — Storming  of  St.  Quentin. — Suc 
cesses  of  the  Spaniards. 

I557- 

WHILE  the  events  related  in  the  preceding  chapter 
were  passing  in  Italy,  the  war  was  waged  on  a  larger 
scale,  and  with  more  important  results,  in  the  northern 
provinces  of  France.  As  soon  as  Henry  had  broken 
the  treaty  and  sent. his  army  across  the  Alps,  Philip 
lost  no  time  in  assembling  his  troops,  although  in  so 
quiet  a  manner  as  to  attract  as  little  attention  as  pos 
sible.  His  preparations  were  such  as  enabled  him  not 
merely  to  defend  the  frontier  of  the  Netherlands,  but 
to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's  country. 

He  despatched  his  confidential  minister,  Ruy  Go 
mez,  to  Spain,  for  supplies  both  of  men  and  money; 
instructing  him  to  visit  his  father,  Charles  the  Fifth, 
and,  after  acquainting  him  with  the  state  of  affairs, 
to  solicit  his  aid  in  raising  the  necessary  funds.1 

Philip  had  it  much  at  heart  to  bring  England  into  the 
war.  During  his  stay  in  the  Low  Countries  he  was  in 

1  Cabrera.  Filipe   Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  2. — Carta  del   Rey  Don 
Filipe  Segundo  &  Ruy  Gomez  de  Silva  a  n  de  Mar9o,  1557,  MS.— 
Papiers  d'fetat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  v.  pp.  61,  63. 
(190) 


ENGLAND    JOINS  IN   THE   WAR.  I9i 

constant  communication  with  the  English  cabinet,  and 
took  a  lively  interest  in  the  government  of  the  king 
dom.  The  minutes  of  the  privy  council  were  regularly 
sent  to  him,  r.nd  as  regularly  returned  with  his  remarks, 
in  his  own  handwriting,  on  the  margin.  In  this  way 
he  discussed  and  freely  criticised  every  measure  of  im 
portance  ;  and  on  one  occasion  we  find  him  requiring 
that  nothing  of  moment  should  be  brought  before  par 
liament  until  it  had  first  been  submitted  to  him.2 

In  March,  1557,  Philip  paid  a  second  visit  to  Eng 
land,  where  he  was  received  by  his  fond  queen  in  the 
most  tender  and  affectionate  manner.  In  her  letters 
she  had  constantly  importuned  him  to  return  to  her. 
On  that  barren  eminence  which  placed  her  above  the 
reach  of  friendship,  Mary  was  dependent  on  her  hus 
band  for  sympathy  and  support.  But  if  the  channel 
of  her  affections  was  narrow,  it  was  deep. 

Philip  found  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  queen's 
consent  to  his  wishes  with  respect  to  the  war  with 
France.  She  was  induced  to  this  not  merely  by  her 
habitual  deference  to  her  husband,  but  by  natural  feel 
ings  of  resentment  at  the  policy  of  Henry  the  Second. 
She  had  put  up  with  affronts,  more  than  once,  from  the 
French  ambassador,  in  her  own  court ;  and  her  throne 
had  been  menaced  by  repeated  conspiracies,  which  if 
not  organized  had  been  secretly  encouraged  by  France. 
Still,  it  was  not  easy  to  bring  the  English  nation  to  this 

2  Tytler,  in  his  England  under  Edward  VI.  and  Mary  (vol.  ii.  p. 
483),  has  printed  extracts  from  the  minutes  of  the  council,  with  the 
commentaries  of  Philip  by  the  side  of  them.  The  commentaries, 
which  are  all  in  the  royal  autograph,  seem  to  be  as  copious  as  the 
minutes  themselves. 


1 92  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

way  of  thinking.  It  had  been  a  particular  proviso  of 
the  marriage-treaty  that  England  should  not  be  made  a 
party  to  the  war  against  France;  and  subsequent  events 
had  tended  to  sharpen  the  feeling  of  jealousy  rather 
towards  the  Spaniards  than  towards  the  French. 

The  attempted  insurrection  of  Stafford,  who  crossed 
over  from  the  shores  of  France  at  this  time,  did  for 
Philip  what  possibly  neither  his  own  arguments  nor 
the  authority  of  Mary  could  have  done.  It  was  the 
last  of  the  long  series  of  indignities  which  had  been 
heaped  on  the  country  from  the  same  quarter ;  and 
parliament  now  admitted  that  it  was  no  longer  con 
sistent  with  its  honor  to  keep  terms  with  a  power 
which  persisted  in  fomenting  conspiracies  to  overturn 
the  government  and  plunge  the  nation  into  civil  war.* 
On  the  seventh  of  June  a  herald  was  despatched,  with 
the  formality  of  ancient  and  somewhat  obsolete  usages, 
to  proclaim  war  against  the  French  king  in  the  pres 
ence  of  his  court  and  in  his  capital.  This  was  done  in 
such  a  bold  tone  of  defiance  that  the  hot  old  Constable 
Montmorency,  whose  mode  of  proceeding,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  apt  to  be  summary,  strongly  urged  his  master 
to  hang  up  the  envoy  on  the  spot.3 

The  state  of  affairs  imperatively  demanded  Philip's 

3  Herrera,  Historia  general  del  Mundo,  de  XV.  Anos  del  Tiempo 
del  Senor  Rey  Don  Felipe  II.  (Valladolid,  1606),  lib.  iv.  cap.  13. — 
Gaillard,  Histoire  de  la  Rivalite"  de  la  France  et  de  1'Espagne  (Paris, 
1801),  torn.  v.  p.  243. 

[*  The  question  of  declaring  war  was  debated,  and  finally  decided 
in  the  affirmative,  by  the  privy  council.  "  There  was  no  Parliament," 
says  Mr.  Froude,  "  in  existence ;  the  last  had  been  dissolved  eighteen 
months  before,  the  next  did  not  meet  till  the  ensuing  January."— ED.] 


ENGLAND   JOINS  IN  THE   WAR.  193 

presence  in  the  Netherlands,  and  after  a  residence  of  less 
than  four  months  in  London  he  bade  a  final  adieu  to  his 
disconsolate  queen,  whose  excessive  fondness  may  have 
been  as  little  to  his  taste  as  the  coldness  of  her  subjects. 
Nothing  could  be  more  forlorn  than  the  condition 
of  Mary.  Her  health  wasting  under  a  disease  that 
cheated  her  with  illusory  hopes,  which  made  her 
ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  ;  her  throne,  her 
very  life,  continually  menaced  by  conspiracies,  to 
some  of  which  even  her  own  sister  was  supposed  to  be 
privy;  her  spirits  affected  by  the  consciousness  of  the 
decline  of  her  popularity  under  the  gloomy  system  of 
persecution  into  which  she  had  been  led  by  her  ghostly 
advisers;  without  friends,  without  children,  almost  it 
might  be  said  without  a  husband, — she  was  alone  in 
the  world,  more  to  be  commiserated  than  the  meanest 
subject  in  her  dominions.  She  has  had  little  com 
miseration,  however,  from  Protestant  writers,  who  paint 
her  in  the  odious  colors  of  a  fanatic.  This  has  been 
compensated,  it  may  be  thought,  by  the  Roman  Catho 
lic  historians,  who  have  invested  the  English  queen 
with  all  the  glories  of  the  saint  and  the  martyr.  Expe 
rience  may  convince  us  that  public  acts  do  not  always 
furnish  a  safe  criterion  of  private  character, — especially 
when  these  acts  are  connected  with  religion.  In  the 
Catholic  Church  the  individual  might  seem  to  be 
relieved,  in  some  measure,  of  his  moral  responsibility, 
by  the  system  of  discipline  which  intrusts  his  conscience 
to  the  keeping  of  his  spiritual  advisers.  If  the  lights  of 
the  present  day  allow  no  man  to  plea'd  so  humiliating 
an  apology,  this  was  not  the  case  in  the  first  half 
of  the  sixteenth  century, — the  age  of  Mary, — when 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — i  17 


194 


WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 


the  Reformation  had  not  yet  diffused  that  spirit  of 
independence  in  religious  speculation  which,  in  some 
degree  at  least,  has  now  found  its  way  to  the  darkest 
corner  of  Christendom. 

A  larger  examination  of  contemporary  documents, 
especially  of  the  queen's  own  correspondence,  justifies 
the  inference  that,  with  all  the  infirmities  of  a  temper 
soured  by  disease  and  by  the  difficulties  of  her  position, 
she  possessed  many  of  the  good  qualities  of  her  illus 
trious  progenitors,  Katharine  of  Aragon  and  Isabella 
of  Castile  ;  the  same  conjugal  tenderness  and  devotion, 
the  same  courage  in  times  of  danger,  the  same  earnest 
desire,  misguided  as  she  was,  to  do  her  duty, — and, 
unfortunately,  the  same  bigotry.  It  was  indeed  most 
unfortunate,  in  Mary's  case,  as  in  that  of  the  Catholic 
queen,  that  this  bigotry,  from  their  position  as  inde 
pendent  sovereigns,  should  have  been  attended  with 
such  fatal  consequences  as  have  left  an  indelible  blot 
on  the  history  of  their  reigns.4 

On  his  return  to  Brussels,  Philip  busied  himself  with 
preparations  for  the  campaign.  He  employed  the 
remittances  from  Spain  to  subsidize  a  large  body  of 
German  mercenaries.  Germany  was  the  country  which 
furnished,  at  this  time,  more  soldiers  of  fortune  than 
any  other;  men  who  served  indifferently  under  the 
banner  that  would  pay  them  best.  They  were  not 
exclusively  made  up  of  infantry,  like  the  Swiss,  but, 
besides  pikemen, — lanzknechts,  —  they  maintained  a 
stout  array  of  cavalry,  reifcrs,  as  they  were  called, — 

4  See  Tytler's  valuable  work,  -Reigns  of  Edward  VI.  and  Mary. 
The  compilation  of  this  work  led  its  candid  author  to  conclusions 
eminently  favorable  to  the  personal  character  of  Queen  Mary. 


PHILIFS  PREPARATIONS.  195 

"riders," — who,  together  with  the  cuirass  and  other 
defensive  armor,  carried  pistols,  probably  of  rude  work 
manship,  but  which  made  them  formidable  from  the 
weapon  being  little  known  in  that  day.  They  were, 
indeed,  the  most  dreaded  troops  of  their  time.  The 
men-at-arms,  encumbered  with  their  unwieldy  lances, 
were  drawn  up  in  line,  and  required  an  open  plain  to 
manoeuvre  to  advantage,  being  easily  discomposed  by 
obstacles;  and  once  broken,  they  could  hardly  rally. 
But  the  reiters,  each  with  five  or  six  pistols  in  his  belt, 
were  formed  into  columns  of  considerable  depth,  the 
size  of  their  weapons  allowing  them  to  go  through  all 
the  evolutions  of  light  cavalry,  in  which  they  were  per 
fectly  drilled.  Philip's  cavalry  was  further  strengthened 
by  a  fine  corps  of  Burgundian  lances,  and  by  a  great 
number  of  nobles  and  cavaliers  from  Spain,  who  had 
come  to  gather  laurels  in  the  fields  of  France,  under 
the  eye  of  their  young  sovereign.  The  flower  of  his 
infantry,  too,  was  drawn  from  Spain  ;  men  who,  inde 
pendently  of  the  indifference  to  danger  and  wonderful 
endurance  which  made  the  Spanish  soldier  inferior  to 
none  of  the  time,  were  animated  by  that  loyalty  to  the 
cause  which  foreign  mercenaries  could  not  feel.  'In 
addition  to  these,  the  king  expected,  and  soon  after 
received,  a  reinforcement  of  eight  thousand  English 
under  the  earl  of  Pembroke.  They  might  well  fight 
bravely  on  the  soil  where  the  arms  of  England  had  won 
two  of  the  most  memorable  victories  in  her  history. 

The  whole  force,  exclusive  of  the  English,  amounted 
to  thirty-five  thousand  foot  and  twelve  thousand  horse, 
besides  a  good  train  of  battering  artillery.5  The  com- 

5  Conf.  De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  p.  148, — Cabrera, 


196  WAR   WITH  FRANCE, 

mand  of  this  army  was  given  to  Emanuel  Philibert, 
prince  of  Piedmont,  better  known  by  his  title  of  duke 
of  Savoy.  No  man  had  a  larger  stake  in  the  contest, 
for  he  had  been  stripped  of  his  dominions  by  the 
French,  and  his  recovery  of  them  depended  on  the 
issue  of  the  war.  He  was  at  this  time  but  twenty-nine 
years  of  age ;  but  he  had  had  large  experience  in  mili 
tary  affairs,  and  had  been  intrusted  by  Charles  the 
Fifth,  who  had  early  discerned  his  capacity,  with 
important  commands.  His  whole  life  may  be  said  to 
have  trained  him  for  the  profession  of  arms.  He  had 
no  taste  for  effeminate  pleasures,  but  amused  himself, 
in  seasons  of  leisure,  with  the  hardy  exercise  of  the 
chase.  He  strengthened  his  constitution,  naturally 
not  very  robust,  by  living  as  much  as  possible  in  the 
open  air.  Even  when  conversing,  or  dictating  to  his 
secretaries,  he  preferred  to  do  so  walking  in  his  garden. 
He  was  indifferent  to  fatigue.  After  hunting  all  day 
he  would  seem  to  require  no  rest,  and  in  a  campaign 
had  been  known,  like  the  knights-errant  of  old,  to  eat, 
drink,  and  sleep  in  his  armor  for  thirty  days  together. 
He  was  temperate  in  his  habits,  eating  little,  and 
drinking  water.  He  was  punctual  in  attention  to 
business,  was  sparing  of  his  words,  and,  as  one  may 
gather  from  the  piquant  style  of  his  letters,  had  a  keen 

Filipe  Segundo,  lib',  iv.  cap.  4,  —  Campana,  Vita  del  Re  Filippo 
Secondo,  parte  ii.  lib.  9, — Herrera,  Historia  general,  lib.  iv.  cap.  14. — 
The  historian  here,  as  almost  everywhere  else  where  numerical  esti 
mates  are  concerned,  must  content  himself  with  what  seems  to  be  the 
closest  approximation  to  the  truth.  Some  writers  carry  the  Spanish 
foot  to  fifty  thousand.  I  have  followed  the  more  temperate  statement 
of  the  contemporary  De  Thou,  who  would  not  be  likely  to  underrate 
the  strength  of  an  enemy. 


PHIL  IP '  S  PREPARA  TIONS. 


197 


insight  into  character,  looking  below  the  surface  of 
men's  actions  into  their  motives.6 

His  education  had  not  been  neglected.  He  spoke 
several  languages  fluently,  and,  though  not  a  great 
reader,  was  fond  of  histories.  He  was  much  devoted 
to  mathematical  science,  which  served  him  in  his 
profession,  and  he  was  reputed  an  excellent  engineer.7 
In  person  the  duke  was  of  the  middle  size ;  well  made, 
except  that  he  was  somewhat  bow-legged.  His  com 
plexion  was  fair,  his  hair  light,  and  his  deportment 
very  agreeable. 

Such  is  the  portrait  of  Emanuel  Philibert,  to  whom 
Philip  now  intrusted  the  command  of  his  forces,  and 
whose  pretensions  he  warmly  supported  as  the  suitor  of 
Elizabeth  of  England.  There  was  none  more  worthy 
of  the  royal  maiden.  But  the  duke  was  a  Catholic ; 
and  Elizabeth,  moreover,  had  seen  the  odium  which 
her  sister  had  incurred  by  her  marriage  with  a  foreign 
sovereign.  Philip,  who  would  have  used  some  con 
straint  in  the  matter,  pressed  it  with  such  earnestness 
on  the  queen  as  proved  how  much  importance  he 
attached  to  the  connection.  Mary's  conduct  on  the 
occasion  was  greatly  to  her  credit ;  and,  while  she 
deprecated  the  displeasure  of  her  lord,  she  honestly 
told  him  that  she  could  not  in  conscience  do  violence 
to  the  inclinations  of  her  sister.8 

6  See  the  letters  of  the  duke  published  in  the  Papiers  d'Etat  de 
Granvelle  (torn,  v.,  passim), — business-like  documents,  seasoned  with 
lively  criticisms  on  the  characters  of  those  he  had  to  deal  with. 

7  Relazione  della  Corte  di  Savoja  di  Gio.  Francesco  Morosini,  1570, 
ap.  Relazioni  degli  Ambasciatori  Veneti,  vol.  iv. 

8  See  the  letter  of  the  queen  to  Philip,  in  Strype,  Catalogue  of 
Originals,  No.  56. 


198  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign,  as  determined  by  Philip's 
cabinet,9  was  that  the  duke  should  immediately  besiege 
some  one  of  the  great  towns  on  the  northern  borders 
of  Picardy,  which  in  a  manner  commanded  the  entrance 
into  the  Netherlands.  Rocroy  was  the  first  selected.  But 
the  garrison,  who  were  well  provided  with  ammunition, 
kept  within  their  defences,  and  maintained  so  lively  a 
cannonade  on  the  Spaniards  that  the  duke,  finding 
the  siege  was  likely  to  consume  more  time  than  it  was 
worth,  broke  up  his  camp  and  resolved  to  march  against 
St.  Quentin.  This  was  an  old  frontier  town  of  Picardy, 
important  in  time  of  peace  as  an  entrepot  for  the  trade 
that  was  carried  on  between  France  and  the  Low  Coun 
tries.  It  formed  a  convenient  place  of  deposit,  at  the 
present  period,  for  such  booty  as  marauding  parties  from 
time  to  time  brought  back  from  Flanders.  It  was  well 
protected  by  its  natural  situation,  and  the  fortifica 
tions  had  been  originally  strong ;  but,  as  in  many  of 
the  frontier  towns,  they  had  been  of  late  years  much 
neglected. 

Before  beginning  operations  against  St.  Quentin,  the 
duke  of  Savoy,  in  order  to  throw  the  enemy  off  his 
guard  and  prevent  his  introducing  supplies  into  the 
town,  presented  himself  before  Guise  and  made  a  show 
of  laying  siege  to  that  place.  After  this  demonstration 
he  resumed  his  march,  and  suddenly  sat  down  before 
St.  Quentin,  investing  it  with  his  whole  army. 

Meanwhile  the  French  had  been  anxiously  watching 

the  movements  of  their  adversary.     Their  forces  were 

assembled  on  several  points  in  Picardy  and  Champagne. 

The  principal  corps  was  under  the  command  of  the 

9  Papiers  d'£tat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  v.  p.  115. 


SIEGE    OF  S7\   QUENT1N.  199 

duke  of  Nevers,  governor  of  the  latter  province,  a 
nobleman  of  distinguished  gallantry  and  who  had  seen 
some  active  service.  He  now  joined  his  forces  to  those 
under  Montmorency,  the  constable  of  France,  who 
occupied  a  central  position  in  Picardy,  and  who  now 
took  the  command,  for  which  his  rash  and  impetuous 
temper  but  indifferently  qualified  him.  As  soon  as  the 
object  of  the  Spaniards  was  known,  it  was  resolved  to 
reinforce  the  garrison  of  St.  Quentin,  which  otherwise, 
it  was  understood,  could  not  hold  out  a  week.  This 
perilous  duty  was  assumed  by  Gaspard  de  Coligni, 
admiral  of  France.10  This  personage,  the  head  of  an 
ancient  and  honored  house,  was  one  of  the  most  re 
markable  men  of  his  time.  His  name  has  gained  a 
mournful  celebrity  in  the  page  of  history,  as  that  of 
the  chief  martyr  in  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. 
He  embraced  the  doctrines  of  Calvin,  and  by  his 
austere  manners  and  the  purity  of  his  life  well  illus 
trated  the  doctrines  he  embraced.  The  decent  order 
of  his  household,  and  their  scrupulous  attention  to  the 
services  of  religion,  formed  a  striking  contrast  to  the 
licentious  conduct  of  too  many  of  the  Catholics,  who, 
however,  were  as  prompt  as  Coligni  to  do  battle  in 
defence  of  their  faith.  In  early  life  he  was  the  gay 
companion  of  the  duke  of  Guise."  But  as  the  Cal- 

10  De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  p.  147. — Commentaires  de 
Fran£ois  de   Rabutin.  ap.   Nouvelle  Collection  des   Memoires  pour 
servir  a  1'Histoire  de  France,  par  MM.  Michaud  et  Poujoulat  (Par  s, 
1838),  torn.  vii.  p.  535. —  Herrera,  Historia  general,  lib.  iv.  cap.  14. — 
Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  5. 

11  "  Us  furent  tous  deux,  dans  leur  jeunes  ans,  .  .  .  sy  grands  com- 
pagnons,  amis  et  confederez  de  court,  que  j'ay  ouy  dire  a  plusieurs 
qui  les  ont  veus  habiller  le  plus  souvant  de  mesmes  parures,  mesmes 


200  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

vinists,  or  Huguenots,  were  driven  by  persecution  to 
an  independent  and  even  hostile  position,  the  two 
friends,  widely  separated  by  opinion  and  by  interest, 
were  changed  into  mortal  foes.  That  hour  had  not  yet 
come.  But  the  heresy  that  was  soon  to  shake  France  to 
its  centre  was  silently  working  under  ground. 

As  the  admiral  was  well  instructed  in  military  affairs, 
and  was  possessed  of  an  intrepid  spirit  and  great  fertility 
of  resource,  he  was  precisely  the  person  to  undertake 
the  difficult  office  of  defending  St.  Quentin.  As  gov 
ernor  of  Picardy  he  felt  this  to  be  his  duty.  Without 
loss  of  time,  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  some  ten  or 
twelve  hundred  men,  horse  and  foot,  and  used  such 
despatch  that  he  succeeded  in  entering  the  place  before 
it  had  been  entirely  invested.  He  had  the  mortifica 
tion,  however,  to  be  followed  only  by  seven  hundred 
of  his  men,  the  remainder  having  failed  through  fatigue 
or  mistaken  the  path. 

The  admiral  found  the  place  in  even  worse  condition 
than  he  had  expected.  The  fortifications  were  much 
dilapidated  ;  and  in  many  parts  of  the  wall  the  masonry 
was  of  so  flimsy  a  character  that  it  must  have  fallen 
before  the  first  discharge  of  the  enemy's  cannon.  The 
town  was  victualled  for  three  weeks,  and  the  magazines 
were  tolerably  well  supplied  with  ammunition.  But 
there  were  not  fifty  arquebuses  fit  for  use. 

St.  Quentin  stands  on  a  gentle  eminence,  protected 
on  one  side  by  marshes,  or  rather  a  morass  of  great 

livrees,  .  .  .  tous  deux  fort  enjoiiez  et  faisant  des  follies  plus  extrava- 
gantes  que  tous  les  autres  ;  et  sur  tout  ne  faisoient  nulles  follies  qu'ils 
ne  fissent  mal,  tant  ils  etoient  rudes  joiieurs  et  malheureux  en  leurs 
jeux."  Brantome,  CEuvres,  torn.  iii.  p.  265. 


SIEGE    OF  ST.   QUENTIN.  2OI 

extent,  through  which  flows  the  river  Somme,  or  a 
branch  of  it.  On  the  same  side  of  the  river  with  St. 
Qnentin  lay  the  army  of  the  besiegers,  with  their 
glittering  lines  extending  to  the  very  verge  of  the 
morass.  A  broad  ditch  defended  the  outer  wall.  But 
this  ditch  was  commanded  by  the  houses  of  the  suburbs, 
which  had  already  been  taken  possession  of  by  the 
besiegers.  There  was,  moreover,  a  thick  plantation 
of  trees  close  to  the  town,  which  would  afford  an 
effectual  screen  for  the  approach  of  an  enemy. 

One  of  the  admiral's  first  acts  was  to  cause  a  sortie  to 
be  made.  The  ditch  was  crossed,  and  some  of  the 
houses  were  burned  to  the  ground.  The  trees  on  the 
banks  were  then  levelled,  and  the  approach  to  the 
town  was  laid  open.  Every  preparation  was  made  for 
a  protracted  defence.  The  exact  quantity  of  provision 
was  ascertained,  and  the  rations  were  assigned  for  each 
man's  daily  consumption.  As  the  supplies  were  inade 
quate  to  support  the  increased  population  for  any  length 
of  time,  Coligni  ordered  that  all  except  those  actively 
engaged  in  the  defence  of  the  place  should  leave  it 
without  delay.  Many,  under  one  pretext  or  another, 
contrived  to  remain,  and  share  the  fortunes  of  the 
garrison.  But  by  this  regulation  he  got  rid  of  seven 
hundred  useless  persons,  who,  if  they  had  stayed,  must 
have  been  the  victims  of  famine;  and  "  their  dead 
bodies,"  the  admiral  coolly  remarked,  "would  have 
bred  a  pestilence  among  the  soldiers."  " 

12  "  II  falloit  les  nourrir  cm  les  faire  mourir  de  faim,  qui  eust  peu 
apporter  une  peste  dans  la  ville."     Memoires  de  Gaspard  de  Coligni, 
ap.  Collection  universelle  des  Memoires  particuliers  relatifs  a  1'His- 
toire  de  France  (Paris,  1788),  torn.  xl.  p.  252. 
1* 


202  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

He  assigned  to  his  men  their  several  posts,  talked 
boldly  of  maintaining  himself  against  all  the  troops 
of  Spain,  and  by  his  cheerful  tone  endeavored  to 
inspire  a  confidence  in  others  which  he  was  far  from 
feeling  himself.  From  one  of  the  highest  towers  he 
surveyed  the  surrounding  country,  tried  to  ascertain 
the  most  practicable  fords  in  the  morass,  and  sent 
intelligence  to  Montmorency  that,  without  relief,  the 
garrison  could  not  hold  out  more  than  a  few  days.13 

That  commander,  soon  after  the  admiral's  departure, 
had  marched  his  army  to  the  neighborhood  of  St. 
Quentin,  and  established  it  in  the  towns  of  La  Fere 
and  Ham,  together  with  the  adjoining  villages,  so  as  to 
watch  the  movements  of  the  Spaniards,  and  co-operate, 
as  occasion  served,  with  the  besieged.  He  at  once 
determined  to  strengthen  the  garrison,  if  possible,  by 
a  reinforcement  of  two  thousand  men  under  Dandelot, 
a  younger  brother  of  the  admiral,  and  not  inferior  to 
him  in  audacity  and  enterprise.  But  the  expedition 
miserably  foiled.  Through  the  treachery  or  the  igno 
rance  of  the  guide,  the  party  mistook  the  path,  came 
on  one  of  the  enemy's  outposts,  and,  disconcerted  by 
the  accident,  were  thrown  into  confusion  and  many 
of  them  cut  to  pieces  or  drowned  in  the  morass.  Their 
leader,  with  the  remainder,  succeeded,  under  cover  of 
the  night,  in  making  his  way  back  to  La  Fere. 

The  constable  now  resolved  to  make  another  attempt, 
and  in  the  open  day.  He  proposed  to  send  a  body, 
under  the  same  commander,  in  boats  across  the  Somme, 

*3  Memoires  de  Coligni. — De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii. 
p.  151. — Rabutin,  ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des  Memoires,  torn.  vii. 
p.  540. — Gamier,  Histoire  de  France  (Paris,  1787),  torn,  xxvii.  p.  358. 


SIEGE    OF  ST.   QUENTIN.  203 

and  to  cover  the  embarkation  in  person  with  his  whole 
army.  His  force  was  considerably  less  than  that  of  the 
Spaniards,  amounting  in  all  to  about  eighteen  thousand 
foot  and  six  thousand  horse,  besides  a  train  of  artillery 
consisting  of  sixteen  guns.14  His  levies,  like  those  of 
his  antagonist,  were  largely  made  up  of  German  mer 
cenaries.  The  French  peasantry,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Gascons,  who  formed  a  fine  body  of  infantry,  had 
long  since  ceased  to  serve  in  war.  But  the  chivalry  of 
'France  was  represented  by  as  gallant  an  array  of  nobles 
and  cavaliers  as  ever  fought  under  the  banner  of  the 
lilies. 

On  the  ninth  of  August,  1557,  Montmorency  put  his 
whole  army  in  motion  ;  and  on  the  following  morning, 
the  memorable  day  of  St.  Lawrence,  by  nine  o'clock, 
be  took  up  a  position  on  the  bank  of  the  Somme.  On 
the  opposite  side,  nearest  the  town,  lay  the  Spanish 
force,  covering  the  ground,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  with  their  white  pavilions  ;  while  the  banners 
of  Spain,  of  Flanders,  and  of  England,  unfurled  in 
the  morning  breeze,  showed  the  various  nations  from 
which  the  motley  host  had  been  gathered.15 

On  the  constable's  right  was  a  windmill,  commanding 
a  ford  of  the  river  which  led  to  the  Spanish  quarters. 
The  building  was  held  by  a  small  detachment  of  the 

J4  There  is  not  so  much  discrepancy  in  the  estimates  of  the  French  as 
of  the  Spanish  force.  I  have  accepted  the  statements  of  the  French 
historians  Gamier  (Histoire  de  France,  torn,  xxvii.  p.  354)  and  De 
Thou  (torn.  iii.  p.  148),  who,  however,  puts  the  cavalry  at  one  thousand 
less.  For  authorities  on  the  Spanish  side,  see  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo, 
lib.  iv.  cap.  j. — Herrera,  Historia  general,  lib.  iv.  cap.  15. — Campana, 
Vita  del  Re  Filippo  Secondo,  parte  ii.  lib.  9. 

*5  Rabutin,  ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des  Memoires,  torn.  vii.  p.  548. 


204  IVAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

enemy.  Montmorency's  first  care  was  to  get  posses 
sion  of  the  mill,  which  he  did  without  difficulty;  and 
by  placing  a  garrison  there,  under  the  prince  of  Conde, 
he  secured  himself  from  surprise  in  that  quarter.  He 
then  profited  by  a  rising  ground  to  get  his  guns  in  posi 
tion  so  as  to  sweep  the  opposite  bank,  and  at  once 
opened  a  brisk  cannonade  on  the  enemy.  The  inarch 
of  the  French  had  been  concealed  by  some  intervening 
hills,  so  that  when  they  suddenly  appeared  on  the  far 
ther  side  of  the  Somme  it  was  as  if  they  had  dropped 
from  the  clouds ;  and  the  shot  which  fell  among  the 
Spaniards  threw  them  into  great  disorder.  There  was 
hurrying  to  and  fro,  and  some  of  the  balls  striking  the 
duke  of  Savoy's  tent,  he  had  barely  time  to  escape  with 
his  armor  in  his  hand.  It  was  necessary  to  abandon 
his  position,  and  he  marched  some  three  miles  down 
the  river,  to  the  quarters  occupied  by  the  commander 
of  the  cavalry,  Count  Egmont.16 

Montmorency,  as  much  elated  with  this  cheap  suc 
cess  as  if  it  had  been  a  victory,  now  set  himself  about 
passing  his  troops  across  the  water.  It  was  attended  with 
more  difficulty  than  he  had  expected.  There  were  no 
boats  in  readiness,  and  two  hours  were  wasted  in  procur 
ing  them.  After  all,  only  four  or  five  could  be  obtained, 
and  these  so  small  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  cross 
and  recross  the  stream  many  times  to  effect  the  object. 
The  boats,  crowded  with  as  many  as  they  could  carry, 

16  Rabutin,  ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des  Memoires,  torn.  vii.  p.  548. — 
Monpleinchamp,  Histoire  d'Emmanuel  Philibert  Due  de  Savoie  (Am 
sterdam,  1699),  p.  146. — De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  p.  157. 
— The  first  of  these  writers,  Fran9ois  de  Rabutin,  is  one  of  the  best 
authorities  for  these  transactions,  in  which  he  took  part  as  a  follower 
of  the  due  de  Nevers. 


BATTLE    OF  ST.   QUENTIN.  205 

stuck  fast  in  the  marshy  banks,  or  rather  quagmire,  on 
the  opposite  side ;  and  when  some  of  the  soldiers  jumped 
out  to  lighten  the  load,  they  were  swallowed  up  and 
suffocated  in  the  mud.17  To  add  to  these  distresses, 
they  were  galled  by  the  incessant  fire  of  a  body  of 
troops  which  the  Spanish  general  had  stationed  on  an 
eminence  that  commanded  the  landing. 

While,  owing  to  these  causes,  the  transportation  of 
the  troops  was  going  slowly  on,  the  duke  of  Savoy  had 
called  a  council  of  war,  and  determined  that  the  enemy, 
since  he  had  ventured  so  near,  should  not  be  allowed 
to  escape  without  a  battle.  There  was  a  practicable 
ford  in  the  river,  close  to  Count  Egmont's  quarters ; 
and  that  officer  received  orders  to  cross  it  at  the  head 
of  his  cavalry  and  amuse  the  enemy  until  the  main 
body  of  the  Spanish  army,  under  the  duke,  should  have 
time  to  come  up. 

Lamoral,  Count  Egmont,  and  prince  of  Gavre,  a 
person  who  is  to  occupy  a  large  space  in  our  subsequent 
pages,  was  a  Flemish  noble  of  an  ancient  and  illustrious 
lineage.  He  had  early  attracted  the  notice  of  the  em 
peror,  who  had  raised  him  to  various  important  offices, 
both  civil  and  military,  in  which  he  had  acquitted  him 
self  with  honor.  At  this  time,  when  thirty-five  years 
old,  he  held  the  post  of  lieutenant-general  of  the  horse, 
and  that  of  governor  of  Flanders. 

Egmont  was   of  a  lofty  and  aspiring  nature,  filled 

*7  "  Encore  a  sortir  des  bateaux,  &  cause  de  la  presse,  les  soldats  ne 
pouvoient  suivre  les  addresses  et  sentes  qui  leur  estoient  appareillees ; 
de  £39011  qu'ils  s'escartoient  et  se  jettoient  a  coste  dans  les  creux  des 
marets,  d'ou  ils  ne  pouvoient  sortir,  et  demeuroient  la  embourbez  et 
noyez."  Rabutin,  ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des  Memoires,  torn.  vii.  p. 
549- 

Philip.— VOL.  I.  1 8 


206  WAR  WITH  FRANCE. 

with  dreams  of  glory,  and  so  much  elated  by  success 
that  the  duke  of  Savoy  was  once  obliged  to  rebuke  him, 
by  reminding  him  that  he  was  not  the  commander-in 
ch  ief  of  the  army.18  With  these  defects  he  united 
some  excellent  qualities,  which  not  un frequently  go 
along  with  them.  In  his  disposition  he  was  frank  and 
manly,  and,  though  hasty  in  temper,  had  a  warm  and 
generous  heart.  He  was  distinguished  by  a  chivalrous 
bearing,  and  a  showy,  imposing  address,  which  took 
with  the  people,  by  whom  his  name  was  held  dear  in 
later  times  for  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  freedom. 
He  was  a  dashing  officer,  prompt  and  intrepid,  well 
fitted  for  a  brilliant  coup-de-main,  or  for  an  affair  like 
the  present,  which  required  energy  and  despatch ;  and 
he  eagerly  undertook  the  duty  assigned  him. 

The  light  horse  first  passed  over  the  ford,  the  exist 
ence  of  which  was  known  to  Montmorency ;  and  he 
had  detached  a  corps  of  German  pistoleers,  of  whom 
there  was  a  body  in  the  French  service,  to  defend  the 
passage.  But  the  number  was  too  small,  and  the  Bur- 
gundian  horse,  followed  by  the  infantry,  advanced,  in 
face  of  the  fire,  as  coolly  and  in  as  good  order  as  if 
they  had  been  on  parade.19  The  constable  soon  re 
ceived  tidings  that  the  enemy  had  begun  to  cross  ;  and, 
aware  of  his  mistake,  he  reinforced  his  pistoleers  with 
a  squadron  of  horse  under  the  due  de  Nevers.  It  was 
too  late :  when  the  French  commander  reached  the 

18  Brantome,  CEuvres,  torn.  i.  p.  361. 

X9  I  quote  the  words  of  Monpleinchamp  (Histoire  du  Due  de  Savoie, 
p.  147),  who,  however,  speaks  of  the  fire  as  coming  from  the  artillery, 
— hardly  probable,  as  the  French  batteries  were  three  miles  distant,  up 
the  river.  But  accuracy  does  not  appear  to  be  the  chief  virtue  of  this 
writer. 


BATTLE    OF  ST.   QUENT1N.  207 

ground  the  enemy  had  already  crossed  in  such  strength 
that  it  would  have  been  madness  to  attack  him.  After 
a  brief  consultation  with  his  officers,  Nevers  deter 
mined,  by  as  speedy  a  countermarch  as  possible,  to  join 
the  main  body  of  the  army. 

The  prince  of  Conde,  as  has  been  mentioned,  occu 
pied  the  mill  which  commanded  the  other  ford,  on  the 
right  of  Montmorency.  From  its  summit  he  could 
descry  the  movements  of  the  Spaniards,  and  their  bat 
talions  debouching  on  the  plain,  with  scarcely  any 
opposition  from  the  French.  He  advised  the  constable 
of  tin's  at  once,  and  suggested  the  necessity  of  an  im 
mediate  retreat."  The  veteran  did  not  relish  advice 
from  one  so  much  younger  than  himself,  and  testily 
replied,  "I  was  a  soldier  before  the  prince  of  Conde 
was  born  ;  and,  by  the  blessing  of  Heaven,  I  trust  to 
teach  him  some  good  lessons  in  war  for  many  a  year 
to  come."  Nor  would  he  quit  the  ground  while  a 
man  of  the  reinforcement  under  Dandelot  remained 
to  cross.20 

The  cause  of  this  fatal  confidence  was  information 
he  had  received  that  the  ford  was  too  narrow  to  allow 
more  than  four  or  five  persons  to  pass  abreast,  which 
would  give  him  time  enough  to  send  over  the  troops 
and  then  secure  his  own  retreat  to  La  Fere.  As  it 
turned  out,  unfortunately,  the  ford  was  wide  enough 
to  allow  fifteen  or  twenty  men  to  go  abreast. 

20  "  Mnnda  au  prince,  pour  toute  reponse,  qu'il  etoit  bien  jeune 
pour  vouloir  lui  apprendre  son  metier,  qu'il  commandoit  les  armees 
avant  que  celui-ci  fut  au  monde,  et  qu'il  comptoit  bien  en  vingt  ans 
lui  donner  encore  des  Ie9ons."  Gamier,  Histoire  de  France,  torn, 
xxvii.  p.  364. 


208  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

The  French,  meanwhile,  who  had  crossed  the  river, 
after  landing  on  the  opposite  bank,  were  many  of  them 
killed  or  disabled  by  the  Spanish  arquebusiers  ;  others 
were  lost  in  the  morass ;  and  of  the  whole  number  not 
more  than  four  hundred  and  fifty,  wet,  wounded,  and 
weary,  with  Dandelot  at  their  head,  succeeded  in 
throwing  themselves  into  St.  Quentin.  The  constable, 
having  seen  the  last  boat  put  off,  gave  instant  orders 
for  retreat.  The  artillery  was  sent  forward  in  the  front, 
then  followed  the  infantry,  and,  last  of  all,  he  brought 
up  the  rear  with  the  horse,  of  which  he  took  com 
mand  in  person.  He  endeavored  to  make  up  for  the 
precious  time  he  had  lost  by  quickening  his  march, 
which,  however,  was  retarded  by  the  heavy  guns  in 
the  van. 

The  due  de  Nevers,  as  we  have  seen,  declining  to 
give  battle  to  the  Spaniards  who  had  crossed  the  stream, 
had  prepared  to  retreat  on  the  main  body  of  the  army. 
On  reaching  the  ground  lately  occupied  by  his  country 
men,  he  found  it  abandoned  ;  and  joining  Conde,  who 
still  held  the  mill,  the  two  officers  made  all  haste  to 
overtake  the  constable. 

Meanwhile,  Count  Egmont,  as  soon  as  he  was  satis 
fied  that  he  was  in  sufficient  strength  to  attack  the 
enemy,  gave  orders  to  advance,  without  waiting  for 
more  troops  to  share  with  him  the  honors  of  victory. 
Crossing  the  field  lately  occupied  by  the  constable,  he 
took  the  great  road  to  La  Fere.  But  the  rising  ground 
which  lay  between  him  and  the  French  prevented  him 
from  seeing  the  enemy  until  he  had  accomplished  half 
a  league  or  more.  The  day  was  now  well  advanced, 
and  the  Flemish  captain  had  some  fears  that,  not  with- 


FRENCfl  ARMY  ROUTED. 


209 


standing  his  speed,  the  quarry  had  escaped  him.  But, 
as  he  turned  the  hill,  he  had  the  satisfaction  to  descry 
the  French  columns  in  full  retreat.  On  their  rear  hung 
a  body  of  sutlers  and  other  followers  of  the  camp,  who 
by  the  sudden  apparition  of  the  Spaniards  were  thrown 
into  a  panic,  which  they  had  wellnigh  communicated  to 
the  rest  of  the  army.21  To  retreat  before  an  enemy  is 
in  itself  a  confession  of  weakness  sufficiently  dispiriting 
to  the  soldier.  Montmorency,  roused  by  the  tumult, 
saw  the  dark  cloud  gathering  along  the  heights,  and 
knew  that  it  must  soon  burst  on  him.  In  this  emer 
gency,  he  asked  counsel  of  an  old  officer  near  him  as 
to  what  he  should  do.  "  Had  you  asked  me,"  replied 
the  other,  "two  hours  since,  I  could  have  told  you: 
it  is  now  too  late."  22  It  was  indeed  too  late,  and  there 
was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  face  about  and  fight  the 
Spaniards.  The  constable,  accordingly,  gave  the  word 
to  halt,  and  made  dispositions  to  receive  his  assailants. 
Egmont,  seeing  him  thus  prepared,  formed  his  own 
squadron  into  three  divisions.  One,  which  was  to  turn 
the  left  flank  of  the  French,  he  gave  to  the  prince  of 
Brunswick  and  to  Count  Hoorne, — a  name  afterwards 
associated  with  his  own  on  a  sadder  occasion  than  the 
present.  Another,  composed  chiefly  of  Germans,  he 

21  Rabutin,  who  gives  this  account,  says  it  would  be  impossible  to 
tell  how  the  disorder  began.     It  came  upon  them  so  like  a  thunder 
clap  that  no  man  had  a  distinct  recollection  of  what  passed.    Rabutin, 
ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des  Memoires,  torn.  vii.  p.  550. 

22  "Appellant  &  lui  dans  ce  trouble  le  vieux  d'Oignon,  officier  experi- 
mente,  il  lui  demanda:  bon  homme,  que  faut-il  faire?   Monseigneur, 
repondit  d'Oignon,  il  y  a  deux  heures  que  je  vous  1'aurois  bien  dit, 
maintenant  je  n'en  sais  rien."     Gamier,  Histoire  de  France,  torn, 
xxvii.  p.  368. 

1 8* 


210  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

placed  under  Count  Mansfeldt,  with  orders  to  assail 
the  centre.  He  himself,  at  the  head  of  his  Burgun- 
dian  lances,  rode  on  the  left  against  Montmorency's 
right  flank.  Orders  were  then  given  to  charge,  and, 
spurring  forward  their  horses,  the  whole  column  came 
thundering  on  against  the  enemy.  The  French  met 
the  shock  like  well-trained  soldiers,  as  they  were;  but 
the  cavalry  fell  on  them  with  the  fury  of  a  torrent 
sweeping  every  thing  before  it,  and  for  a  few  moments 
it  seemed  as  if  all  were  lost.  But  the  French  chivalry 
was  true  to  its  honor,  and  at  the  call  of  Montmorency, 
who  gallantly  threw  himself  into  the  thick  of  the  fight, 
it  rallied,  and,  returning  the  charge,  compelled  the 
assailants  to  give  way  in  their  turn.  The  struggle,  now 
continued  on  more  equal  terms,  grew  desperate ;  man 
against  man,  horse  against  horse, — it  seemed  to  be  a 
contest  of  personal  prowess,  rather  than  of  tactics  or 
military  science.  So  well  were  the  two  parties  matched 
that  for  a  long  time  the  issue  was  doubtful ;  and  the 
Spaniards  might  not  have  prevailed  in  the  end,  but  for 
the  arrival  of  reinforcements,  both  foot  and  heavy 
cavalry,  who  came  up  to  their  support.  Unable  to 
withstand  this  accumulated  force,  the  French  cava 
liers,  overpowered  by  numbers,  not  by  superior  valor, 
began  to  give  ground.  Hard  pressed  by  Egmont,  who 
cheered  on  his  men  to  renewed  efforts,  their  ranks  were 
at  length  broken.  The  retreat  became  a  flight ;  and, 
scattered  over  the  field  in  all  directions,  they  were 
hotly  pursued  by  their  adversaries,  especially  the  Ger 
man  schwarzreitersy — those  riders  "  black  as  devils,"23 

23  "  Noirs  comme  de  beaux  diables."     Brantome,  CEuvres,  torn.  iii. 
p.  185. 


FRENCH  ARMY  ROUTED.  2n 

— who  did  such  execution  with  their  fire-arms  as  com 
pleted  the  discomfiture  of  the  French. 

Amidst  this  confusion,  the  Gascons,  the  flower  of  the 
French  infantry,  behaved  with  admirable  coolness.24 
Throwing  themselves  into  squares,  with  the  pikemen 
armed  with  their  long  pikes  in  front,  and  the  arque- 
busiers  in  the  centre,  they  presented  an  impenetrable 
array,  against  which  the  tide  of  battle  raged  and  chafed 
in  impotent  fury.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  Spanish  horse 
rode  round  the  solid  masses  bristling  with  steel,  if  pos 
sible,  to  force  an  entrance,  while  an  occasional  shot, 
striking  a  trooper  from  his  saddle,  warned  them  not  to 
approach  too  near. 

It  was  in  this  state  of  things  that  the  duke  of  Savoy, 
with  the  remainder  of  the  troops,  including  the  artil 
lery,  came  on  the  field  of  action.  His  arrival  could 
not  have  been  more  seasonable.  The  heavy  guns  were 
speedily  turned  on  the  French  squares,  whose  dense 
array  presented  an  obvious  mark  to  the  Spanish  bullets. 
Their  firm  ranks  were  rent  asunder;  and,  as  the  brave 
men  tried  in  vain  to  close  over  the  bodies  of  their  dying 
comrades,  the  horse  took  advantage  of  the  openings  to 
plunge  into  the  midst  of  the  phalanx.  Here  the  long 
spears  of  the  pikemen  were  of  no  avail,  and,  striking 
right  and  left,  the  cavaliers  dealt  death  on  every  side. 
All  now  was  confusion  and  irretrievable  ruin.  No  one 
thought  of  fighting,  or  even  of  self-defence.  The  only 
thought  was  of  flight.  Men  overturned  one  another 

24  "  Icelles  compagnies  de  fantrie,  en  ce  peu  qu'elles  se  comportoient, 
autant  belles,  bien  complettes  et  bien  armees,  que  Ton  en  avoit  veu  en 
France  il  y  avoit  long-temps."  Rabutin,  ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des 
Memoires,  torn.  vii.  p.  551. 


212  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

in  their  eagerness  to  escape.  They  were  soon  mingled 
with  the  routed  cavalry,  who  rode  down  their  own 
countrymen.  Horses  ran  about  the  field  without  riders. 
Many  of  the  soldiers  threw  away  their  arms,  to  fly  the 
more  quickly.  All  strove  to  escape  from  the  terrible 
pursuit  which  hung  on  their  rear.  The  artillery  and 
ammunition-wagons  choked  up  the  road  and  obstructed 
the  flight  of  the  fugitives.  The  slaughter  was  dreadful. 
The  best  blood  of  France  flowed  like  water. 

Yet  mercy  was  shown  to  those  who  asked  it.  Hun 
dreds  and  thousands  threw  down  their  arms  and  ob 
tained  quarter.  Nevers,  according  to  some  accounts, 
covered  the  right  flank  of  the  French  army.  Others 
state  that  he  was  separated  from  it  by  a  ravine  or 
valley.  At  all  events,  he  fared  no  better  than  his 
leader.  He  was  speedily  enveloped  by  the  cavalry 
of  Hoorne  and  Brunswick,  and  his  fine  corps  of  light 
horse  cut  to  pieces.  He  himself,  with  the  prince  of 
Conde,  was  so  fortunate  as  to  make  his  escape,  with 
the  remnant  of  his  force,  to  La  Fere. 

Had  the  Spaniards  followed  up  the  pursuit,  few 
Frenchmen  might  have  been  left  that  day  to  tell  the 
story  of  the  rout  of  St.  Quentin.  But  the  fight  had 
already  lasted  four  hours;  evening  was  setting  in  ;  and 
the  victors,  spent  with  toil  and  sated  with  carnage, 
were  content  to  take  up  their  quarters  on  the  field  of 
battle. 

The  French,  in  the  mean  time,  made  their  way,  one 
after  another,  to  La  Fere,  and,  huddling  together  in 
the  public  squares,  or  in  the  quarters  they  had  before 
occupied,  remained  like  a  herd  of  panic-struck  deer 
in  whose  ears  the  sounds  of  the  chase  are  still  ring- 


FRENCH  ARMY  ROUTED.  213 

ing.  But  the  loyal  cavaliers  threw  off  their  panic, 
and  recovered  heart,  when  a  rumor  reached  them  that 
their  commander,  Montmorency,  was  still  making 
head,  with  a  body  of  stout  followers,  against  the 
enemy.  At  the  tidi'ngs,  faint  and  bleeding  as  they 
were,  they  sprang  to  the  saddles  which  they  had  just 
quitted,  and  were  ready  again  to  take  the  field.25 

But  the  rumor  was  without  foundation.  Montmo 
rency  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards. 
The  veteran  had  exposed  his  own  life  throughout  the 
action,  as  if  willing  to  show  that  he  would  not  shrink 
in  any  degree  from  the  peril  into  which  he  had  brought 
his  followers.  When  he  saw  that  the  day  was  lost,  he 
threw  himself  into  the  hottest  of  the  battle,  holding 
life  cheap  in  comparison  with  honor.  A  shot  from 
the  pistol  of  a  schwarzreiter,  fracturing  his  thigh,  dis 
abled  him  from  further  resistance ;  and  he  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Spaniards,  who  treated  him  with  the 
respect  due  to  his  rank.  The  number  of  prisoners  was 
very  large, — according  to  some  accounts,  six  thousand, 
of  whom  six  hundred  were  said  to  be  gentlemen  and 
persons  of  condition.  The  number  of  the  slain  is 
stated,  as  usual,  with  great  discrepancy,  varying  from 
three  to  six  thousand.  A  much  larger  proportion  of 
them  than  usual  were  men  of  family.  Many  a  noble 
house  in  France  went  into  mourning  for  that  day. 

2S  "A  ces  nouvelles  s'esleverent  tellement  leurs  esprits  et  courages 
qu'ils  recoururent  incontinent  aux  armes,  et  n'oyoit-on  plus  partout 
que  demander  harnois  et  chevaux,  et  trompettes  sonner  a  cheval,  ayant 
chacun  recouvert  ses  forces  et  sentimens  pour  venger  la  honte  prece- 
dente  ;  toutefois  ce  murmure  se  trouva  nul  et  demeura  assoupi  en  peu 
d'heure."  Rabutin,  ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des  Memoires,  torn.  vii. 
P-  552. 


214  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

Among  those  who  fell  was  Jean  de  Bourbon,  count 
d'Enghien,  a  prince  of  the  blood.  Mortally  wounded, 
he  was  carried  to  the  tent  of  the  duke  of  Savoy,  where 
he  soon  after  expired,  and  his  body  was  sent  to  his 
countrymen  at  La  Fere  for  honorable  burial.  To 
balance  this  bloody  roll,  no  account  states  the  loss 
of  the  Spaniards  at  over  a  thousand  men.26 

More  than  eighty  standards,  including  those  of  the 
cavalry,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors,  together 
with  all  the  artillery,  ammunition-wagons,  and  baggage 
of  the  enemy.  France  had  not  experienced  such  a 
defeat  since  the  battle  of  Agincourt.*7 

King  Philip  had  left  Brussels,  and  removed  his 
quarters  to  Cambray,  that  he  might  be  near  the  duke 
of  Savoy,  with  whom  he  kept  up  daily  communication 
throughout  the  siege.  Immediately  after  the  battle, 
on  the  eleventh  of  August,  he  visited  the  camp  in 
person.  At  the  same  time,  he  wrote  to  his  father, 
expressing  his  regret  that  he  had  not  been  there  to 
share  the  glory  of  the  day.28  The  emperor  seems  to 

26  Campana,  Vita  del  Re  Filippo  Secondo,  parte  ii.  lib.  9. — Accord 
ing  to  some  accounts,  the  loss  did  not  exceed  fifty.    This,  considering 
the  spirit  and  length  of  the  contest,  will  hardly  be  credited.    It  reminds 
one  of  the  wars  with  the  Moslems  in  the  Peninsula,  where,  if  \ve  are  to 
take  the  account  of  the  Spaniards,  their  loss  was  usually  as  one  to  a 
hundred  of  the  enemy. 

27  For  the  preceding  pages,  see  Rabutin,  ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des 
Memoires,  torn.  vii.  pp.  548-552. — Cabrera,   Filipe  Segundo,   lib.  iv. 
cap.  7. — Campana,  Vita  del  Re  Filippo  Secondo,  parte  ii.  lib.  9. — 
Monpleinchamp,  Vie   du   Due   de   Savoie,  pp.   146-150. —  Herrera, 
Historia  general,  lib.  iv.  cap.  15. — De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn, 
iii.  pp.  154-160. — Gamier,  Histoire  de  France,  torn,  xxvii.  pp.  361-372. 
— Carta  de  Felipe  2do   d  su  padre  anunciandole  la  victoria  de  San 
Quentin,  MS. 

38  "  Pues  yo  no  me  halle  alii,  de  que  me  pesa  lo  que  V.  M.  no  puede 


FRENCH  ARMY  ROUTED. 


215 


have  heartily  shared  this  regret.29  It  is  quite  certain, 
if  Charles  had  had  the  direction  of  affairs,  he  would 
not  have  been  absent.  But  Philip  had  not  the  bold, 
adventurous  spirit  of  his  father.  His  talent  lay  rather 
in  meditation  than  in  action  ;  and  his  calm,  deliberate 
forecast  better  fitted  him  for  the  council  than  the  camp. 
In  enforcing  levies,  in  raising  supplies,  in  superintend 
ing  the  organization  of  the  army,  he  was  indefatigable. 
The  plan  of  the  campaign  was  determined  under  his 
own  eye  ;  and  he  was  most  sagacious  in  the  selection 
of  his  agents.  But  to  those  agents  he  prudently  left 
the  conduct  of  the  war,  for  which  he  had  no  taste, 
perhaps  no  capacity,  himself.  He  did  not,  like  his 
rival,  Henry  the  Second,  fancy  himself  a  great  captain 
because  he  could  carry  away  the  prizes  of  a  tourney. 

Philip  was  escorted  to  the  camp  by  his  household 
troops.  He  appeared  on  this  occasion  armed  cap-d-pie, 
— a  thing  by  no  means  common  with  him.  It  seems 
to  have  pleased  his  fancy  to  be  painted  in  military 
costume.  At  least,  there  are  several  portraits  of  him 
in  complete  mail, — one  from  the  pencil  of  Titian.  A 
picture  taken  at  the  present  time  was  sent  by  him  to 
Queen  Mary,  who,  in  this  age  of  chivalry,  may  have 
felt  some  pride  in  seeing  her  lord  in  the  panoply  of 
war. 

On  the  king's  arrival  at  the  camp,  he  was  received 
with  all  the  honors  of  a  victor, — with  flourishes  of 

pensar,  no  puedo  dar  region  de  lo  que  paso  sino  de  oydas."  Carta 
de  Felipe  2do  d  su  padre,  n  de  Agosto,  1557,  MS. 

29  This  appears  by  a  letter  of  the  major-domo  of  Charles,  Luis 
Quixada,  to  the  secretary,  Juan  Vazquez  de  Molina,  MS.:  "  Siento 
que  no  se  puede  conortar  de  que  su  hijo  no  se  hallase  en  ello." 


21 6  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

trumpets,  salvos  of  artillery,  and  the  loud  shouts  of 
the  soldiery.  The  duke  of  Savoy  laid  at  his  feet  the 
banners  and  other  trophies  of  the  fight,  and,  kneeling 
down,  would  have  kissed  Philip's  hand  ;  but  the  king, 
raising  him  from  the  ground,  and  embracing  him  as 
he  did  so,  said  that  the  acknowledgments  were  due 
from  himself  to  the  general  who  had  won  him  such  a 
victory.  At  the  same  time,  he  paid  a  well-deserved 
compliment  to  the  brilliant  part  which  Egmont  and 
his  brave  companions  had  borne  in  the  battle.30 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  dispose  of  the 
prisoners,  whose  number  embarrassed  the  conquerors. 
Philip  dismissed  all  those  of  the  common  file,  on  the 
condition  that  they  should  not  bear  arms  for  six 
months  against  the  Spaniards.  The  condition  did  no 
great  detriment  to  the  French  service,  as  the  men,  on 
their  return,  were  sent  to  garrison  some  distant  towns, 
and  their  places  in  the  army  filled  by  the  troops  whom 
they  had  relieved.  The  cavaliers  and  persons  of  con 
dition  were  lodged  in  fortresses,  where  they  could  be 
securely  detained  till  the  amount  of  their  respective 
ransoms  was  determined.  These  ransoms  formed  an 
important  part  of  the  booty  of  the  conqueror;  how 
important,  may  be  inferred  from  the  sum  offered  by 
the  constable  on  his  own  account  and  that  of  his  son, 
— no  less,  it  is  said,  than  a  hundred  and  sixty-five 
thousand  gold  crowns.31  The  soldier  of  that  day, 
when  the  penalty  was  loss  of  fortune  as  well  as  of 
freedom,  must  be  confessed  to  have  fought  on  harder 
conditions  than  at  present. 

3°  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  7. 

3*  De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  Hi.  p.  246. 


FRENCH  ARMY  ROUTED.  217 

A  council  of  war  was  next  called,  to  decide  on  further 
operations.  When  Charles  the  Fifth  received  tidings 
of  the  victory  of  St.  Quentin,  the  first  thing  he  asked, 
as  we  are  told,  was  "whether  Philip  were  at  Paris."33 
Had  Charles  been  in  command,  he  would  doubtless 
have  followed  up  the  blow  by  presenting  himself  at 
once  before  the  French  capital.  But  Philip  was  not 
of  that  sanguine  temper  which  overlooks,  or  at  least 
overleaps,  the  obstacles  in  its  way.  Charles  calcu 
lated  the  chances  of  success ;  Philip,  those  of  failure. 
Charles's  character  opened  the  way  to  more  brilliant 
achievements,  but  exposed  him  also  to  severer  reverses. 
His  enterprising  spirit  was  more  favorable  to  building 
up  a  great  empire ;  the  cautious  temper  of  Philip  was 
better  fitted  to  preserve  it.  Philip  came  in  the  right 
time ;  and  his  circumspect  policy  was  probably  better 
suited  to  his  position,  as  well  as  to  his  character,  than 
the  bolder  policy  of  the  emperor. 

When  the  duke  of  Savoy  urged,  as  it  is  said,  the 
expediency  of  profiting  by  the  present  panic  to  march 
at  once  on  the  French  capital,  Philip  looked  at  the 
dangers  of  such  a  step.  Several  strong  fortresses  of 
the  enemy  would  be  left  in  his  rear.  Rivers  must  be 

32  It  is  Brantome  who  tells  the  anecdote,  in  his  usual  sarcastic  way: 
"  Encor,  tout  religieux,  demy  sainct  qu'il  estoit,  il  ne  se  peut  en  garder 
que  quant  le  roy  son  fils  cut  gaigne  la  bataille  de  Sainct-Quentin  de 
demander  aussi  tost  que  le  courrier  luy  apporta  des  nouvelles,  s'il  avoit 
bien  poursuivi  la  victoire,  et  jusques  aux  portes  de  Paris."  CEuvres, 
torn.  i.  p.  ii. — Luis  Quixada,  in  a  letter  written  at  the  time  from  Yuste, 
gives  a  version  of  the  story  which,  if  it  has  less  point,  is  probably 
more  correct:  "  S.  Magd.  estd  con  mucho  cuidado  por  saber  que 
camino  arra  tornado  el  Rey  despues  de  acabada  aquella  empresa  de 
San  Quintin."  Carta  de  27  de  Setiembre,  1557,  MS. 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — K  19 


2lS  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

crossed,  presenting  lines  of  defence  which  could  easily 
be  maintained  against  a  force  even  superior  to  his  own. 
Paris  was  covered  by  formidable  works,  and  forty  thou 
sand  citizens  could  be  enrolled,  at  the  shortest  notice, 
for  its  protection.  It  was  not  wise  to  urge  the  foe  to 
extremity,  to  force  a  brave  and  loyal  people,  like  the 
French,  to  rise  en  masse,  as  they  would  do  for  the 
defence  of  their  capital.  The  emperor,  his  father, 
had  once  invaded  France  with  a  powerful  .army  and 
laid  siege  to  Marseilles.  The  issue  of  that  invasion 
was  known  to  everybody.  "The  Spaniards,"  it  was 
tauntingly  said,  "had  come  into  the  country  feasting 
on  turkeys;  they  were  glad  to  escape  from  it  feeding 
on  roots!"33  Philip  determined,  therefore,  to  abide 
by  his  original  plan  of  operations,  and  profit  by  the 
late  success  of  his  arms  to  press  the  siege  of  St. 
Quentin  with  his  whole  force.  It  would  not  be  easy 
for  any  one,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to  pronounce  on 
the  wisdom  of  his  decision.  But  subsequent  events 
tend  considerably  to  strengthen  our  confidence  in  it. 

Preparations  were  now  made  to  push  the  siege  with 
vigor.  Besides  the  cannon  already  in  the  camp,  and 
those  taken  in  the  battle,  a  good  number  of  pieces 
were  brought  from  Cambray  to  strengthen  the  batter 
ing-train  of  the  besiegers.  The  river  was  crossed; 
and  the  Faubourg  d'lle  was  carried  by  the  duke,  after 
a  stout  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  French,  who 
burned  the  houses  in  their  retreat.  The  Spanish  com 
mander  availed  himself  of  his  advantage  to  establish 
batteries  close  to  the  town,  which  kept  up  an  incessant 

33  "  Para  no  entrar  en  Francia  como  su  padre  comiendo  pabos,  i 
salir  comiendo  raizes."     Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  8. 


FRENCH  ARMY  ROUTED.  219 

cannonade,  that  shook  the  old  walls  and  towers  to  their 
foundation.  The  miners  also  carried  on  their  opera 
tions,  and  galleries  were  excavated  almost  to  the  centre 
of  the  place. 

The  condition  of  the  besieged,  in  the  mean  time, 
was  forlorn  in  the  extreme ;  not  so  much  from  want 
of  food,  though  their  supplies  were  scanty,  as  from 
excessive  toil  and  exposure.  Then  it  was  that  Coligni 
displayed  all  the  strength  of  his  character.  He  felt 
the  importance  of  holding  out  as  long  as  possible,  that 
the  nation  might  have  time  to  breathe,  as  it  were,  and 
recover  from  the  late  disaster.  He  endeavored  to 
infuse  his  own  spirit  into  the  hearts  of  his  soldiers, 
toiling  with  the  meanest  of  them,  and  sharing  all  their 
privations.  He  cheered  the  desponding,  by  assuring 
them  of  speedy  relief  from  their  countrymen.  Some 
he  complimented  for  their  bravery ;  others  he  flat 
tered  by  asking  their  advice.  He  talked  loudly  of  the 
resources  at  his  command.  If  any  should  hear  him  so 
much  as  hint  at  a  surrender,  he  gave  them  leave  to  tie 
him  hand  and  foot  and  throw  him  into  the  moat.  If 
he  should  hear  one  of  them  talk  of  it,  the  admiral 
promised  to  do  as  much  by  him.34 

The  due  de  Nevers,  who  had  established  himself,  with 
the  wreck  of  the  French  army  and  such  additional  levies 
as  he  could  muster,  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Quen- 
tin,  contrived  to  communicate  with  the  admiral.  On 

34  "  Si  Ton  m'oyoit  tenir  quelque  langage,  qui  approchast  de  faire 
composition,  je  les  suppliois  tous  qu'ils  me  jettassent,  comme  un  pol- 
Iron,  dedans  le  fosse  par  dessus  les  murailles:  que  s'il  y  avoit  quel- 
qu'un  qui  nTen  tint  propos,  je  ne  lui  en  ferois  pas  mains."  Coligni, 
Memoires,  ap.  Collection  universelle  des  Memoires,  torn.  xl.  p.  272. 


220  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

one  occasion  he  succeeded  in  throwing  a  reinforcement 
of  a  hundred  and  twenty  arquebusiers  into  the  town, 
though  it  cost  him  thrice  that  number,  cut  to  pieces  by 
the  Spaniards  in  the  attempt.  Still  the  number  of  the 
garrison  was  altogether  inadequate  to  the  duties  im 
posed  on  it.  With  scanty  refreshment,  almost  without 
repose,  watching  and  fighting  by  turns,  the  day  passed 
in  defending  the  breaches  which  the  night  was  not  long 
enough  to  repair, — no  frame  could  be  strong  enough  to 
endure  it. 

Coligni  had,  fortunately,  the  services  of  a  skilful 
engineer,  named  St.  Remy,  who  aided  him  in  repairing 
the  injuries  inflicted  on  the  works  by  the  artillery  and 
by  the  scarcely  less  destructive  mines  of  the  Spaniards. 
In  the  want  of  solid  masonry,  every  material  was  re 
sorted  to  for  covering  up  the  breaches.  Timbers  were 
thrown  across ;  and  boats  filled  with  earth,  laid  on  the 
broken  rampart,  afforded  a  good  bulwark  for  the  French 
musketeers.  But  the  time  was  come  when  neither  the 
skill  of  the  engineer  nor  the  courage  of  the  garrison 
could  further  avail.  Eleven  practicable  breaches  had 
been  opened,  and  St.  Remy  assured  the  admiral  that  he 
could  not  engage  to  hold  out  four-and- twenty  hours 
longer.35 

The  duke  of  Savoy  also  saw  that  the  time  had  come 
to  bring  the  siege  to  a  close  by  a  general  assault.  The 
twenty-seventh  of  August  was  the  day  assigned  for  it. 
On  that  preceding  he  fired  three  mines,  which  shook 
down  some  fragments  of  the  wall,  but  did  less  execu 
tion  than  was  expected.  On  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-seventh  his  whole  force  was  under  arms.  The 

35  Gaillard,  Rivalitd,  torn.  v.  p.  253. 


STORMING    OF  ST.   QUENTIN.  221 

duke  divided  it  into  as  many  corps  as  there  were 
breaches,  placing  these  corps  under  his  best  and  bravest 
officers.  He  proposed  to  direct  the  assault  in  person. 

Coligni  made  his  preparations  also  with  consummate 
coolness.  He  posted  a  body  of  troops  at  each  of  the 
breaches,  while  he  and  his  brother  Dandelot  took 
charge  of  the  two  which,  still  more  exposed  than  the 
others,  might  be  considered  as  the  post  of  danger.  He 
had  the  satisfaction  to  find,  in  this  hour  of  trial,  that 
the  men,  as  well  as  their  officers,  seemed  to  be  animated 
with  his  own  heroic  spirit. 

Before  proceeding  to  storm  the  place,  the  duke  of 
Savoy  opened  a  brisk  cannonade,  in  order  to  clear  away 
the  barricades  of  timber,  and  other  temporary  defences, 
which  had  been  thrown  across  the  breaches.  The  fire 
continued  for  several  hours,  and  it  was  not  till  after 
noon  that  the  signal  was  given  for  the  assault.  The 
troops  rushed  forward, — Spaniards,  Flemings,  English, 
and  Germans, — spurred  on  by  feelings  of  national 
rivalry.  A  body  of  eight  thousand  brave  Englishmen 
had  joined  the  standard  of  Philip  in  the  early  part 
of  .the  campaign  ;3<5  and  they  now  eagerly  coveted  the 
opportunity  for  distinction  which  had  been  denied 
them  at  the  battle  of  St.  Quentin,  where  the  fortune 
of  the  day  was  chiefly  decided  by  cavalry.  But  no 
troops  felt  so  keen  a  spur  to  their  achievements  as  the 
Spaniards,  fighting  as  they  were  under  the  eye  of  their 
sovereign,  who  from  a  neighboring  eminence  was  spec 
tator  of  the  combat. 

The  obstacles  were  not  formidable  in  the  path  of  the 
assailants,  who  soon  clambered  over  the  fragments  of 

3«  Burnet,  Reformation,  vol.  iii.  p.  636. 


222  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

masonry  and  other  rubbish  which  lay  scattered  below 
the  ramparts,  and,  in  the  face  of  a  steady  fire  of  mus 
ketry,  presented  themselves  before  the  breaches.  The 
brave  men  stationed  to  defend  them  were  in  sufficient 
strength  to  occupy  the  open  spaces ;  their  elevated 
position  gave  them  some  advantage  over  the  assailants, 
and  they  stood  to  their  posts  with  the  resolution  of 
men  prepared  to  die  rather  than  surrender.  A  fierce 
conflict  now  ensued  along  the  whole  extent  of  the  ram 
parts  ;  and  the  French,  sustained  by  a  dauntless  spirit, 
bore  themselves  as  stoutly  in  the  fight  as  if  they  had 
been  in  training  for  it  of  late,  instead  of  being  en 
feebled  by  scanty  subsistence  and  excessive  toil.  After 
a  severe  struggle,  which  lasted  nearly  an  hour,  the 
Spaniards  were  driven  back  at  all  'points.  Not  a 
breach  was  won  ;  and,  broken  and  dispirited,  the 
assailants  were  compelled  to  retire  on  their  former 
position. 

After  this  mortifying  repulse,  the  duke  did  not  give 
them  a  long  time  to  breathe  before  he  again  renewed 
the  assault.  This  time  he  directed  the  main  attack 
against  a  tower  where  the  resistance  had  been  weakest. 
In  fact,  Coligni  had  there  placed  the  troops  on  whom 
he  had  least  reliance,  trusting  to  the  greater  strength  of 
the  works.  But  a  strong  heart  is  worth  all  the  defences 
in  the  world.  After  a  sharp  but  short  struggle,  the 
assailants  succeeded  in  carrying  the  tower.  The  faint 
hearted  troops  gave  way;  and  the  Spaniards,  throwing 
themselves  on  the  rampart,  remained  masters  of  one 
of  the  breaches.  A  footing  once  gained,  the  assail 
ants  poured  impetuously  into  the  opening,  Spaniards, 
Germans,  and  English  streaming  like  a  torrent  along 


STORMING    OF  ST.   QUENTIN.  223 

the  ramparts,  and  attacking  the  defenders  on  their 
flank.  Coligni,  meanwhile,  and  his  brother  Dandelot, 
had  rushed,  with  a  few  followers,  to  the  spot,  in  the 
hope,  if  possible,  to  arrest  the  impending  ruin.  But 
they  were  badly  supported.  Overwhelmed  by  numbers, 
they  were  trodden  down,  disarmed,  and  made  pris 
oners.  Still  the  garrison,  at  the  remaining  breaches, 
continued  to  make  a  desperate  stand.  But,  with  one 
corps  pressing  them  on  flank  and  another  in  front,  they 
were  speedily  cut  to  pieces,  or  disabled  and  taken.  In 
half  an  hour  resistance  had  ceased  along  the  ramparts. 
The  town  was  in  possession  of  the  Spaniards.37 

A  scene  of  riot  and  wild  uproar  followed,  such  as 
made  the  late  conflict  seem  tame  in  comparison.  The 
victorious  troops  spread  over  the  town  in  quest  of 
plunder,  perpetrating  those  deeds  of  ruthless  violence 
usual,  even  in  this  enlightened  age,  in  a  city  taken  by 
storm.  The  wretched  inhabitants  fled  before  them ; 
the  old  and  the  helpless,  the  women  and  children, 
taking  refuge  in  garrets,  cellars,  and  any  other  corner 
where  they  could  hide  themselves  from  their  pursuers. 
Nothing  was  to  be  heard  but  the  groans  of  the  wounded 

37  For  notices  of  the  taking  of  St.  Quentin,  in  greater  or  less  detail, 
see  Coligni,  Memoires,  ap.  Collection  universelle  des  Memoires,  torn, 
xl. ;  Rabutin,  Memoires,  ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des  Memoires,  torn, 
vii.  p.  556,  et  seq. ;  De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  pp.  164- 
170 ;  Campana,  Vita  del  Re  Filippo  Secondo,  parte  ii.  lib.  9  ;  Cabrera, 
Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  9 ;  Monpleinchamp,  Vie  du  Due  de  Sa- 
voie,  p.  152. — Juan  de  Pinedo,  in  a  letter  to  the  secretary  Vazquez 
(dated  St.  Quentin,  August  2/th),  speaking  of  the  hard  fighting  which 
took  place  in  the  assault,  particularly  praises  the  gallantry  of  the 
English:  "  Esta  tarde  entre  tres  y  quatro  horas  se  ha  entrado  San 
Quentin  a  pura  fue^a  peleando  muy  bien  los  de  dentro  y  los  de  fuera, 
inuy  escogidamente  todos,  y  por  estremo  los  Ingleses."  MS. 


224  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

and  the  dying,  the  cries  of  women  and  children, — "so 
pitiful,"  says  one  present,  "  that  they  would  grieve  any 
Christian  heart,"38 — mingled  with  the  shouts  of  the 
victors,  who,  intoxicated  with  liquor,  and  loaded  with 
booty,  now  madly  set  fire  to  several  of  the  buildings, 
which  soon  added  the  dangers  of  conflagration  to  the 
other  horrors  of  the  scene.  In  a  short  time  the  town 
would  have  been  reduced  to  ashes,  and  the  place  which 
Philip  had  won  at  so  much  cost  would  have  been  lost 
to  him  by  the  excesses  of  his  own  soldiers. 

The  king  had  now  entered  the  city  in  person.  He 
had  never  been  present  at  the  storming  of  a  place,  and 
the  dreadful  spectacle  which  he  witnessed  touched  his 
heart.  Measures  were  instantly  taken  to  extinguish  the 
flames,  and  orders  were  issued  that  no  one,  under  pain 
of  death,  should  offer  any  violence  to  the  old  and 
infirm,  to  the  women  and  children,  to  the  ministers  of 
religion,  to  religious  edifices,  or,  above  all,  to  the  relics 
of  the  blessed  St.  Quentin.  Several  hundred  of  the 
poor  people,  it  is  said,  presented  themselves  before 
Philip  and  claimed  his  protection.  By  his  command 
they  were  conducted,  under  a  strong  escort,  to  a  place 
of  safety.39 

It  was  not  possible,  however,  to  prevent  the  pillage 
of  the  town.  It  would  have  been  as  easy  to  snatch  the 
carcass  from  the  tiger  that  was  rending  it.  The  pillage 
of  a  place  taken  by  storm  was  regarded  as  the  perquisite 

38  Letter  of  the  earl  of  Bedford  to  Sir  William  Cecil  (dated  "  from 
our  camp  beside  St.  Quentin,  the  3rd  of  Sept.,  1557"),  ap.  Tytler,  Ed 
ward  VI.  and  Mary,  vol.  ii.  p.  493. 

39  According  to  Sepulveda  (De  Rebus  gestis  Philippi  II.,  lib.  i.  cap. 
30),  no  less  than  four  thousand  women.     It  is  not  very  probable  that 
Coligni  would  have  consented  to  cater  for  so  many  useless  mouths. 


STORMING    OF  ST.   QUENTIN.  225 

of  the  soldier,  on  which  he  counted  as  regularly  as  on 
his  pay.  Those  who  distinguished  themselves  most 
in  this  ruthless  work  were  the  German  mercenaries. 
Their  brutal  rapacity  filled  even  their  confederates  with 
indignation.  The  latter  seem  to  have  been  particularly 
disgusted  with  the  unscrupulous  manner  in  which  the 
schwarzreiters  appropriated  not  only  their  own  share  of 
the  plunder,  but  that  of  both  English  and  Spaniards.40 

Thus  fell  the  ancient  town  of  St.  Quentin,  after  a 
defence  which  reflects  equal  honor  on  the  courage  of 
the  garrison  and  on  the  conduct  of  their  commander. 
With  its  fortifications  wretchedly  out  of  repair,  its 
supply  of  arms  altogether  inadequate,  the  number  of 
its  garrison  at  no  time  exceeding  a  thousand,  it  still 
held  out  for  near  a  month  against  a  powerful  army, 
fighting  under  the  eyes  of  its  sovereign  and  led  by  one 
of  the  best  captains  of  Europe.41 

Philip,  having  taken  measures  to  restore  the  fortifica- 

4°  "  The  Swartzrotters,  being  masters  of  the  king's  whole  army,  used 
such  force,  as  well  to  the  Spaniards,  Italians,  and  all  other  nations,  as 
unto  us,  that  there  was  none  could  enjoy  nothing  but  themselves. 
They  have  now  showed  such  cruelty,  as  the  like  hath  not  been  seen 
for  greediness :  the  town  by  them  was  set  a-fire,  and  a  great  piece  of 
it  burnt."  Letter  of  the  earl  of  Bedford  to  Cecil,  ap.  Tytler,  Edward 
VI.  and  Mary,  vol.  ii.  p.  493. 

41  Rabutin,  Memoires,  ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des  Memoires,  torn, 
vii.  pp.  537-564. — De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  pp.  149-170. 
— Campana,  Vita  di  Filippo  Secondo,  parte  ii.  lib.  9. — The  best  ac 
count  of  the  siege  of  St.  Quentin  is  to  be  found  in  Coligni's  Memoires 
(ap.  Collection  universelle  des  Memoires,  torn.  xl.  pp.  217-290),  written 
by  him  in  his  subsequent  captivity,  when  the  events  were  fresh  in  his 
memory.  The  narrative  is  given  in  a  simple,  unpretending  manner, 
that  engages  our  confidence,  though  the  author  enters  into  a  minute 
ness  of  detail  which  the  general  historian  may  be  excused  from  follow 
ing. 

K* 


226  WAR   WITJ1  FRANCE. 

tions  of  St.  Quentin,  placed  it  under  the  protection 
of  a  Spanish  garrison,  and  marched  against  the  neigh 
boring  town  of  Catelet.  It  was  a  strong  place,  but  its 
defenders,  unlike  their  valiant  countrymen  at  St.  Quen 
tin,  after  a  brief  show  of  resistance,  capitulated  on  the 
sixth  of  September.  This  was  followed  by  the  surren 
der  of  Ham,  once  renowned  through  Picardy  for  the 
strength  of  its  defences.  Philip  then  led  his  victorious 
battalions  against  Noyon  and  Chaulny,  which  last  town 
was  sacked  by  the  soldiers.  The  French  were  filled 
with  consternation  as  one  strong  place  after  another 
on  the  frontier  fell  into  the  hands  of  an  enemy  who 
seemed  as  if  he  were  planting  his  foot  permanently  on 
their  soil.  That  Philip  did  not  profit  by  his  success  to 
push  his  conquests  still  further,  is  to  be  attributed  not 
to  remissness  on  his  part,  but  to  the  conduct,  or  rather 
the  composition,  of  his  army,  made  up  as  it  was  of 
troops  who,  selling  their  swords  to  the  highest  bidder, 
cared  little  for  the  banner  under  which  they  fought. 
Drawn  from  different  countries,  the  soldiers,  gathered 
into  one  camp,  soon  showed  all  their  national  rival 
ries  and  animosities.  The  English  quarrelled  with  the 
Germans,  and  neither  could  brook  the  insolent  bearing 
of  the  Spaniards.  The  Germans  complained  that  their 
arrears  were  not  paid, — a  complaint  probably  well 
founded,  as,  notwithstanding  his  large  resources,  Philip, 
on  an  emergency,  found  the  difficulty  in  raising  funds 
which  every  prince  in  that  day  felt,  when  there  was  no 
such  thing  known  as  a  well-arranged  system  of  taxa 
tion.  Tempted  by  the  superior  offers  of  Henry  the 
Second,  the  schwarzrciters  left  the  standard  of  Philip 
in  great  numbers,  to  join  that  of  his  rival. 


SUCCESSES   OF   THE   SPANIARDS.  227 

The  English  were  equally  discontented.  They  had 
brought  from  home  the  aversion  for  the  Spaniards 
which  had  been  festering  there  since  the  queen's  mar 
riage.  The  sturdy  islanders  were  not  at  all  pleased 
with  serving  under  Philip.  They  were  fighting,  not 
the  battles  of  England,  they  said,  but  of  Spain.  Every 
new  conquest  was  adding  to  the  power  of  a  monarch 
far  too  powerful  already.  They  had  done  enough,  and 
insisted  on  being  allowed  to  return  to  their  own  coun 
try.  The  king,  who  dreaded  nothing  so  much  as  a 
rupture  between  his  English  and  his  Spanish  subjects, 
to  which  he  saw  the  state  of  things  rapidly  tending, 
was  fain  to  consent. 

By  this  departure  of  the  English  force,  and  the  seces 
sion  of  the  Germans,  Philip's  strength  was  so  much 
impaired  that  he  was  in  no  condition  to  make  con 
quests,  hardly  to  keep  the  field.  The  season  was  now 
far  advanced,  for  it  was  the  end  of  October.  Having 
therefore  garrisoned  the  conquered  places  and  put  them 
in  the  best  posture  of  defence,  he  removed  his  camp 
to  Brussels,  and  soon  after  put  his  army  into  winter- 
quarters.42 

Thus  ended  the  first  campaign  of  Philip  the  Second, 
— the  first  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  following, 
the  only  campaign  in  which  he  was  personally  present. 
It  had  been  eminently  successful.  Besides  the  impor 
tant  places  which  he  had  gained  on  the  frontier  of 
Picardy,  he  had  won  a  signal  victory  in  the  field. 

But  the  campaign  was  not  so  memorable  for  military 

42  De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  pp.  173-177. — Cabrera, 
Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  13. — Sepulveda,  De  Rebus  gestis  Philippi 
II.,  lib.  i.  cap.  32. 


22g  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

results  as  in  a  moral  view.  It  showed  the  nations  of 
Europe  that  the  Spanish  sceptre  had  passed  into  the 
hands  of  a  prince  who  was  as  watchful  as  his  prede 
cessor  had  been  over  the  interests  of  the  state,  and 
who,  if  he  were  not  so  actively  ambitious  as  Charles 
the  Fifth,  would  be  as  little  likely  to  brook  any  insult 
from  his  neighbors.  The  victory  of  St.  Quentin,  oc 
curring  at  the  commencement  of  his  reign,  reminded 
men  of  the  victory  won  at  Pavia  by  his  father  at  a 
similar  period  of  his  career,  and,  like  that,  furnished 
a  brilliant  augury  for  the  future.  Philip,  little  given 
to  any  visible  expression  of  his  feelings,  testified  his 
joy  at  the  success  of  his  arms  by  afterwards  raising 
the  magnificent  pile  of  the  Escorial,  in  honor  of  the 
blessed  martyr  St.  Lawrence,  on  whose  day  the  battle 
was  fought,  and  to  whose  interposition  with  Heaven 
he  attributed  the  victory. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

WAR  WITH    FRANCE. 

Extraordinary  Efforts  of  France. — Calais  surprised  by  Guise. — The 
French  invade  Flanders. — Bloody  Battle  of  Gravelines. — Negotia 
tions  for  Peace. — Mary's  Death. — Accession  of  Elizabeth. — Treaty 
of  Cateau-Cambresis. 

I557-I559- 

THE  state  of  affairs  in  France  justified  Philip's  con 
clusions  in  respect  to  the  loyalty  of  the  people.  No 
sooner  did  Henry  the  Second  receive  tidings  of  the 
fatal  battle  of  St.  Quentin  than  he  despatched  couriers 
in  all  directions,  summoning  his  chivalry  to  gather 
round  his  banner,  and  calling  on  the  towns  for  aid  in 
his  extremity.  The  nobles  and  cavaliers  promptly  re 
sponded  to  the  call,  flocking  in  with  their  retainers ; 
and  not  only  the  large  towns,  but  those  of  inferior  size, 
cheerfully  submitted  to  be  heavily  taxed  for  the  public 
service.  Paris  nobly  set  the  example.  She  did  not 
exhaust  her  zeal  in  processions  of  the  clergy,  headed 
by  the  queen  and  the  royal  family,  carrying  with  them 
relics  from  the  different  churches.  All  the  citizens 
capable  of  bearing  arms  enrolled  themselves  for  the 
defence  of  the  capital ;  and  large  appropriations  were 
made  for  strengthening  Montmartre  and  for  defraying 
the  expenses  of  the  war.1 

1  De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  pp.  163,  176. — Gamier, 
Histoire  de  France,  torn,  xxvii.  p.  377  et  seq. 

Philip.— Vol.  I.  20  (  229  ) 


230  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

With  these  and  other  resources  at  his  command, 
Henry  was  speedily  enabled  to  subsidize  a  large  body 
of  Swiss  and  German  mercenaries.  The  native  troops 
serving  abroad  were  ordered  home.  The  veteran  Mar 
shal  Termes  came,  with  a  large  corps,  from  Tuscany, 
and  the  duke  of  Guise  returned,  with  the  remnant  of 
his  battalions,  from  Rome.  This  popular  commander 
was  welcomed  with  enthusiasm.  The  nation  seemed 
to  look  to  him  as  to  the  deliverer  of  the  country.  His 
late  campaign  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples  was  celebrated 
as  if  it  had  been  a  brilliant  career  of  victory.  He  was 
made  lieutenant-general  of  the  army,  and  the  oldest 
captains  were  proud  to  take  service  under  so  renowned 
a  chief. 

The  government  was  not  slow  to  profit  by  the  extra 
ordinary  resources  thus  placed  at  its  disposal.  Though 
in  the  depth  of  winter,  it  was  resolved  to  undertake 
some  enterprise  that  should  retrieve  the  disasters  of 
the  late  campaign  and  raise  the  drooping  spirits  of 
the  nation.  The  object  proposed  was  the  recovery 
of  Calais,  that  strong  place,  which  for  more  than 
two  centuries  had  remained  in  possession  of  the  Eng 
lish. 

The  French  had  ever  been  keenly  sensible  to  the  in 
dignity  of  an  enemy  thus  planting  his  foot  immovably, 
as  it  were,  on  their  soil.  They  had  looked  to  the  re 
covery  of  Calais  with  the  same  feelings  with  which  the 
Spanish  Moslems,  when  driven  into  Africa,  looked  to 
the  recovery  of  their  ancient  possessions  in  Granada. 
They  showed  how  constantly  this  was  in  their  thoughts 
by  a  common  saying  respecting  any  commander  whom 
they  held  lightly,  that  he  was  "not  a  man  to  drive  the 


CALAIS  SURPRISED   BY  GUISE.  231 

English  out  of  France."2  The  feelings  they  enter 
tained,  however,  were  rather  those  of  desire  than  of 
expectation.  The  place  was  so  strong,  so  well  garri 
soned,  and  so  accessible  to  the  English,  that  it  seemed 
impregnable.  These  same  circumstances,  and  the  long 
possession  of  the  place,  had  inspired  the  English,  on 
the  other  hand,  with  no  less  confidence,  as  was  pretty 
well  intimated  by  an  inscription  on  the  bronze  gates 
of  the  town, — "  When  the  French  besiege  Calais,  lead 
and  iron  will  swim  like  cork."3  This  confidence,  as 
it  often  happens,  proved  their  ruin. 

The  bishop  of  Acqs,  the  French  envoy  to  England, 
on  returning  home,  a  short  time  before  this,  had  passed 
through  Calais,  and  gave  a  strange  report  of  the  decay 
of  the  works  and  the  small  number  of  the  garrison, 
in  short,  of  the  defenceless  condition  of  the  place. 
Guise,  however,  as  cautious  as  he  was  brave,  was  un 
willing  to  undertake  so  hazardous  an  enterprise  without 
more  precise  information.  When  satisfied  of  the  fact, 
he  entered  on  the  project  with  his  characteristic  ardor. 
The  plan  adopted  was  said  to  have  been  originally 
suggested  by  Coligni.  In  order  to  deceive  the  enemy, 
the  duke  sent  the  largest  division  of  the  army,  under 
Nevers,  in  the  direction  of  Luxemburg.  He  then 
marched  with  the  remainder  into  Picardy,  as  if ,  to 

2  "  C'etoit  un  proverbe  re9u  en  France  pour  designer  un  mauvais 
general,  un  guerrier  sans  inerite,  de  dire  :  line  chasserapas  les  Anglois 
de  la  France."     Gaillard,  Rivalite  de  la  France  et  de  1'Espagne,  torn. 
v.  p.  260. 

3  "  Aussi  les  Anglois  furent  si  glorieux  (car  ils  le  sont  assez  de  leur 
naturel)  de  mettre  sur  les  portes  de  la  ville  que,  lors  que  les  Fran9ois 
assiegeront  Calais,  Ton  verra  le  plomb  et  le  fer  nager  sur  1'eau  comme 
le  liege."     Brantome,  CEuvres,  torn.  iii.  p.  203. 


232 


WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 


menace  one  of  the  places  conquered  by  the  Spaniards. 
Soon  afterwards  the  two  corps  united,  and  Guise,  at 
the  head  of  his  whole  force,  by  a  rapid  march,  pre 
sented  himself  before  the  walls  of  Calais. 

The  town  was  defended  by  a  strong  citadel,  and  by 
two  forts.  One  of  these,  commanding  the  approach 
by  water,  the  duke  stormed  and  captured  on  the  second 
of  January,  1558.  The  other,  which  overlooked  the 
land,  he  carried  on  the  following  day.  Possessed  of 
these  two  forts,  he  felt  secure  from  any  annoyance 
by  the  enemy,  either  by  land  or  by  water.  He  then 
turned  his  powerful  battering-train  against  the  citadel, 
keeping  up  a  furious  cannonade  by  day  and  by  night. 
On  the  fifth,  as  soon  as  a  breach  was  opened,  the 
victorious  troops  poured  in,  and,  overpowering  the 
garrison,  planted  the  French  colors  on  the  walls.  The 
earl  of  Wentvvorth,  who  commanded  in  Calais,  unable, 
with  his  scanty  garrison,  to  maintain  the  place  now 
that  the  defences  were  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
capitulated  on  the  eighth.  The  fall  of  Calais  was 
succeeded  by  that  of  Guisnes  and  of  Hammes.  Thus, 
in  a  few  days,  the  English  were  stripped  of  every  rood 
of  the  territory  which  they  had  held  in  France  since 
the  time  of  Edward  the  Third. 

The  fall  of  Calais  caused  the  deepest  sensation  on 
both  sides  of  the  Channel.  The  English,  astounded 
by  the  event,  loudly  inveighed  against  the  treachery 
of  the  commander.  They  should  rather  have  blamed 
the  treachery  of  their  own  government,  which  had  so 
grossly  neglected  to  provide  for  the  defence  of  the 
place.  Philip,  suspecting  the  designs  of  the  French, 
had  intimated  his  suspicions  to  the  English  govern- 


CALAIS  SURPRISED   BY  GUISE.  233 

ment,  and  had  offered  to  strengthen  the  garrison  by 
a  reinforcement  of  his  own  troops.  But  his  allies, 
perhaps  distrusting  his  motives,  despised  his  counsel, 
or  at  least  failed  to  profit  by  it.4  After  the  place  was 
taken,  he  made  another  offer  to  send  a  strong  force  to 
recover  it,  provided  the  English  would  support  him 
with  a  sufficient  fleet.  This  also,  perhaps  from  the 
same  feeling  of  distrust,  though  on  the  plea  of  inability 
to  meet  the  expense,  was  declined,  and  the  opportunity 
for  the  recovery  of  Calais  was  lost  forever.3 

Yet,  in  truth,  it  was  no  great  loss  to  the  nation. 
Like  more  than  one,  probably,  of  the  colonial  posses 
sions  of  England  at  the  present  day,  Calais  cost  every 
year  more  than  it  was  worth.  Its  chief  value  was  the 
facility  it  afforded  for  the  invasion  of  France.  Yet 
such  a  facility  for  war  with  their  neighbors,  always  too 
popular  with  the  English  before  the  time  of  Philip  the 
Second,  was  of  questionable  value.  The  real  injury 
from  the  loss  of  Calais  was  the  wound  which  it  inflicted 
on  the  national  honor. 

The  exultation  of  the  French  was  boundless.  It 
could  not  well  have  been  greater  if  the  duke  of  Guise 
had  crossed  the  Channel  and  taken  London  itself. 
The  brilliant  and  rapid  manner  in  which  the  exploit 
had  been  performed,  the  gallantry  with  which  -the 
young  general  had  exposed  his  own  person  in  the 
assault,  the  generosity  with  which  he  had  divided  his 
share  of  the  booty  among  the  soldiers,  all  struck  the 
lively  imagination  of  the  French  ;  and  he  became  more 
than  ever  the  idol  of  the  people. 

4  Burnet,  History  of  the  Reformation,  vol.  iii.  p.  646. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  650. 

20* 


234  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

Yet  during  the  remainder  of  the  campaign  his  arms 
were  not  crowned  with  such  distinguished  success.  In 
May  he  marched  against  the  strong  town  of  Thionville, 
in  Luxemburg.  After  a  siege  of  twenty  days,  the  place 
surrendered.  Having  taken  one  or  two  other  towns  of 
less  importance,  the  French  army  wasted  nearly  three 
weeks  in  a  state  of  inaction,  unless,  indeed,  we  take 
into  account  the  activity  caused  by  intestine  troubles 
of  the  army  itself.  It  is  difficult  to  criticise  fairly  the 
conduct  of  a  commander  of  that  age,  when  his  levies 
were  made  up  so  largely  of  foreign  mercenaries,  who 
felt  so  little  attachment  to  the  service  in  which  they 
were  engaged  that  they  were  ready  to  quarrel  with  it 
on  the  slightest  occasion.  Among  these  the  German 
schwarzreiters  were  the  most  conspicuous,  manifesting 
too  often  a  degree  of  insolence  and  insubordination 
that  made  them  hardly  less  dangerous  as  friends  than 
as  enemies.  The  importance  they  attached  to  their 
own  services  made  them  exorbitant  in  their  demands 
of  pay.  When  this,  as  was  too  frequently  the  case, 
was  in  arrears,  they  took  the  matter  into  their  own 
hands,  by  pillaging  the  friendly  country  in  which  they 
were  quartered,  or  by  breaking  out  into  open  mutiny. 
A  German  baron,  on  one  occasion,  went  so  far  as  to 
level  his  pistol  at  the  bead  of  the  duke  of  Guise.  So 
widely  did  this  mutinous  spirit  extend  that  it  was  only 
by  singular  coolness  and  address  that  this  popular 
chieftain  could  bring  these  adventurers  into  any  thing 
like  subjection  to  his  authority.  As  it  was,  the  loss  of 
time  caused  by  these  troubles  was  attended  with  most 
disastrous  consequences. 

The  duke  had  left  Calais  garrisoned  by  a  strong 


THE   FRENCH  INVADE   FLANDERS.         235 

force,  under  Marshal  de  Thermes.  He  had  since  ordered 
that  veteran  to  take  command  of  a  body  of  fifteen 
hundred  horse  and  five  thousand  foot,  drawn  partly 
from  the  garrison  itself,  and  to  march  into  West  Flan 
ders.  Guise  proposed  to  join  him  there  with  his  own 
troops,  when  they  would  furnish  such  occupation  to  the 
Spaniards  as  would  effectually  prevent  them  from  a 
second  invasion  of  Picardy. 

The  plan  was  well  designed,  and  the  marshal  faith 
fully  executed  his  part  of  it.  Taking  the  road  by  St. 
Omer,  he  entered  Flanders  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Dunkirk,  laid  siege  to  that  flourishing  town,  stormed 
and  gave  it  up  to  pillage.  He  then  penetrated  as  far 
as  Nieuport,  when  the  fatigue  and  the  great  heat  of 
the  weather  brought  on  an  attack  of  gout,  which 
entirely  disabled  him.  The  officer  on  whom  the 
command  devolved  allowed  the  men  to  spread  them 
selves  over  the  country,  where  they  perpetrated  such 
acts  of  rapacity  and  violence  as  were  not  sanctioned 
even  by  the  code  of  that  unscrupulous  age.  The 
wretched  inhabitants,  driven  from  their  homes,  called 
loudly  on  Count  Egmont,  their  governor,  to  protect 
them.  The  duke  of  Savoy  lay  with  his  army,  at  this 
time,  at  Maubeuge,  in  the  province  of  Namur;  but  he 
sent  orders  to  Egmont  to  muster  such  forces  as  he 
could  raise  in  the  neighboring  country,  and  to  intercept 
the  retreat  of  the  French,  until  the  duke  could  come 
to  his  support  and  chastise  the  enemy. 

Egmont,  indignant  at  the  wrongs  of  his  countrymen, 
and  burning  with  the  desire  of  revenge,  showed  the 
greatest  alacrity  in  obeying  these  orders.  Volunteers 
came  in  from  all  sides,  and  he  soon  found  himself  at 


236  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

the  head  of  an  army  consisting  of  ten  or  twelve  thou 
sand  foot  and  two  thousand  horse.  With  these  he 
crossed  the  borders  at  once,  and  sent  forward  a  de 
tachment  to  occupy  the  great  road  by  which  Thermes 
had  penetrated  into  Flanders. 

The  French  commander,  advised  too  late  of  these 
movements,  saw  that  it  was  necessary  to  abandon  at 
once  his  present  quarters,  and  secure,  if  possible,  his 
retreat.  Guise  was  at  a  distance,  occupied  with  the 
troubles  of  his  own  camp.  The  Flemings  had  pos 
session  of  the  route  by  which  the  marshal  had  entered 
the  country.  One  other  lay  open  to  him,  along  the 
sea-shore,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Gravelines,  where 
the  Aa  pours  its  waters  into  the  ocean.  By  taking 
advantage  of  the  ebb,  the  river  might  be  forded,  and 
a  direct  road  to  Calais  would  be  presented. 

Thermes  saw  that  no  time  was  to  be  lost.  He  caused 
himself  to  be  removed  from  his  sick-bed  to  a  litter, 
and  began  his  retreat  at  once.  On  leaving  Dunkirk,  he 
fired  the  town,  where  the  houses  were  all  that  remained 
to  the  wretched  inhabitants  of  their  property.  His 
march  was  impeded  by  his  artillery,  by  his  baggage, 
and  especially  by  the  booty  which  he  was  conveying 
back  from  the  plundered  provinces.  He  however 
succeeded  in  crossing  the  Aa  at  low  water,  and  gained 
the  sands  on  the  opposite  side.  But  the  enemy  was 
there  before  him.6 

6  De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  p.  238. — Gamier,  Histoire 
de  France,  torn,  xxvii.  p.  512. — Rabutin,  ap.  Nouvelle  Collection  des 
Memoires,  torn.  vii.  p.  598. — Campana,  Vita  del  Re  Filippo  Secondo, 
parte  ii.  lib.  10. — Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  21. — Herrera, 
Historia  general,  lib.  v.  cap.  5. — Monpleinchamp,  Vie  du  Due  de 
Savoie,  p.  154. 


BATTLE    OF  GRAVELINES.  237 

Egmont,  on  getting  tidings  of  the  marshal's  move 
ments,  had  crossed  the  river  higher  up,  where  the 
stream  was  narrower.  Disencumbering  himself  of 
artillery,  and  even  of  baggage,  in  order  to  move  the 
lighter,  he  made  a  rapid  march  to  the  sea-side,  and 
reached  it  in  time  to  intercept  the  enemy.  There 
was  no  choice  left  for  Thermes  but  to  fight  his  way 
through  the  Spaniards  or  surrender. 

Ill  as  he  was,  the  marshal  mounted  his  horse  and 
addressed  a  few  words  to  his  troops.  Pointing  in  the 
direction  of  the  blazing  ruins  of  Dunkirk,  he  told 
them  that  they  could  not  return  there.  Then  turning 
towards  Calais,  "There  is  your  home,"  he  said,  "and 
you  must  beat  the  enemy  before  you  can  gain  it."  He 
determined,  however,  not  to  begin  the  action,  but  to 
secure  his  position  as  strongly  as  he  could,  and  await 
the  assault  of  the  Spaniards. 

He  placed  his  infantry  in  the  centre,  and  flanked  it 
on  either  side  by  his  cavalry.  In  the  front  he  estab 
lished  his  artillery,  consisting  of  six  or  seven  falconets, 
— field-pieces  of  smaller  size.  He  threw  a  considerable 
body  of  Gascon  pikemen  in  the  rear,  to  act  as  a  reserve 
wherever  their  presence  should  be  required.  The  river 
Aa,  which  flowed  behind  his  troops,  formed  also  a  good 
protection  in  that  quarter.  His  left  wing  he  covered 
by  a  barricade  made  of  the  baggage-  and  artillery- 
wagons.  His  right,  which  rested  on  the  ocean,  seemed 
secure  from  any  annoyance  on  that  side.* 

#  [At  the  present  day  a  general,  would  scarcely  consider  it  an 
advantage  in  battle  to  have  the  sea  on  his  flank  and  a  river  in  his 
rear.  Such  is,  however,  the  view  taken  in  this  instance  by  contempo 
rary  writers  and  adopted  by  modern  historians.  The  desperateness 


238  WAR    WITH  FRANCE. 

Count  Egmont,  seeing  the  French  thus  preparing  to 
give  battle,  quickly  made  his  own  dispositions.  He 
formed  his  cavalry  into  three  divisions.  The  centre  he 
proposed  to  lead  in  person.  It  was  made  up  chiefly  of 
the  heavy  men-at-arms  and  some  Flemish  horse.  On 
the  right  he  placed  his  light  cavalry,  and  on  the  left 
wing  rode  the  Spanish.  His  infantry  he  drew  up  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  support  the  several  divisions  of  horse. 
Having  completed  his  arrangements,  he  gave  orders  to 
the  centre  and  the  right  wing  to  charge,  and  rode  at 
full  gallop  against  the  enemy. 

Though  somewhat  annoyed  by  the  heavy  guns  in 
their  advance,  the  battalions  came  on  in  good  order, 
and  fell  with  such  fury  on  the  French  left  and  centre 
that  horse  and  foot  were  borne  down  by  the  violence 
of  the  shock.  But  the  French  gentlemen  who  formed 
the  cavalry  were  of  the  same  high  mettle  as  those  who 
fought  at  St.  Quentin.  Though  borne  down  for  a 
moment,  they  were  not  overpowered ;  and,  after  a 
desperate  struggle,  they  succeeded  in  rallying  and  in 
driving  back  the  assailants.  Egmont  returned  to  the 
charge,  but  was  forced  back  with  greater  loss'  than 
before.  The  French,  following  up  their  advantage, 
compelled  the  assailants  to  retreat  on  their  own  lines. 
The  guns,  at  the  same  time,  opening  on  the  exposed 
flank  of  the  retreating  troopers,  did  them  considerable 
mischief.  Egmont's  horse  was  killed  under  him,  and 
he  had  nearly  been  run  over  by  his  own  followers.  In 

of  the  position  may  partly  account  for  the  vigorous  efforts  of  the 
French  at  the  beginning  of  the  action ;  but  it  explains,  much  better 
than  the  fire  from  the  English  fleet,  their  subsequent  panic  and  the 
completeness  of  their  defeat. — ED.] 


BATTLE    OF  GRAVELINES.  239 

the  mean  while,  the  Gascon  reserve,  armed  with  their 
long  spears,  pushed  on  to  the  support  of  the  cavalry, 
and  filled  the  air  with  their  shouts  of  "Victory  !"7 

The  field  seemed  to  be  already  lost ;  when  the  left 
wing  of  Spanish  horse,  which  had  not  yet  come  into 
action,  seeing  the  disorderly  state  of  the  French,  as 
they  were  pressing  on,  charged  them  briskly  on  the 
flank.  This  had  the  effect  to  check  the  tide  of  pursuit 
and  give  the  fugitives  time  to  rally.  Egmont,  mean 
while,  was  mounted  on  a  fresh  horse,  and,  throwing 
himself  into  the  midst  of  his  followers,  endeavored  to 
reanimate  their  courage  and  reform  their  disordered 
ranks.  Then,  cheering  them  on  by  his  voice  and 
example,  he  cried  out,  "  We  are  conquerors !  Those 
who  love  glory  and  their  fatherland,  follow  me!"8 
and  spurred  furiously  against  the  enemy. 

The  French,  hard  pressed  both  on  front  and  on 
flank,  fell  back  in  their  turn,  and  continued  to  retreat 
till  they  had  gained  their  former  position.  At  the  same 
time,  the  lanzknechts  in  Egmont's  service  marched  up, 
in  defiance  of  the  fire  of  the  artillery,  and  got  pos 
session  of  the  guns,  running  the  men  who  had  charge 
of  them  through  with  their  lances.9  The  fight  now 
became  general;  and,  as  the  combatants  were  brought 
into  close  quarters,  they  fought  as  men  fight  where 
numbers  are  nearly  balanced  and  each  one  seems  to 
feel  that  his  own  arm  may  turn  the  scale  of  vic 
tory.  The  result  was  brought  about  by  an  event 

7  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  21. 

1  "  Nous  sommes  vainqueurs ;  que  ceux  qui  aiment  la  gloire  et  leur 
patrie  me  suivent."     De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  p.  240. 
9  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  21. 


24o  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

which  neither  party  could  control,  and  neither  have 
foreseen. 

An  English  squadron  of  ten  or  twelve  vessels  lay  at 
some  distance,  but  out  of  sight  of  the  combatants. 
Attracted  by  the  noise  of  the  firing,  its  commander 
drew  near  the  scene  of  action,  and,  ranging  along 
shore,  opened  his  fire  on  the  right  wing  of  the  French, 
nearest  the  sea.10  The  shot,  probably,  from  the  dis 
tance  of  the  ships,  did  no  great  execution,  and  is  even 
said  to  have  killed  some  of  the  Spaniards.  But  it 
spread  a  panic  among  the  French,  as  they  found  them 
selves  assailed  by  a  new  enemy,  who  seemed  to  have 
risen  from  the  depths  of  the  ocean.  In  their  eagerness 
to  extricate  themselves  from  the  fire,  the  cavalry  on  the 
right  threw  themselves  on  the  centre,  trampling  down 
their  own  comrades,  until  all  discipline  was  lost,  and 
horse  and  foot  became  mingled  together  in  wild  dis 
order.  Egmont  profited  by  the  opportunity  to  renew 
his  charge ;  and  at  length,  completely  broken  and 
dispirited,  the  enemy  gave  way  in  all  directions.  The 
stout  body  of  Gascons  who  formed  the  reserve  alone 
held  their  ground  for  a  time,  until,  vigorously  charged 
by  the  phalanx  of  Spanish  spearmen,  they  broke,  and 
were  scattered  like  the  rest. 

The  rout  was  now  general,  and  the  victorious  cav 
alry  rode  over  the  field,  trampling  and  cutting  down 
the  fugitives  on  all  sides.  Many  who  did  not  fall 
under  their  swords  perished  in  the  waters  of  the  Aa, 
now  swollen  by  the  rising  tide.  Others  were  drowned 
in  the  ocean.  No  less  than  fifteen  hundred  of  those 

10  De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  p.  240. — Gamier,  Histoire 
de  France,  torn,  xxvii.  p.  516. 


BATTLE    OF  GRAVELINES.  241 

who  escaped  from  the  field  are  said  to  have  been  killed 
by  the  peasantry,  who  occupied  the  passes,  and  thus 
took  bloody  revenge  for  the  injuries  inflicted  on  their 
country."  Two  thousand  French  are  stated  to  have 
fallen  on  the  field,  and  not  more  than  five  hundred 
Spaniards,  or  rather  Flemings,  who  composed  the 
bulk  of  the  army.  The  loss  fell  most  severely  on 
the  French  cavalry;  severely  indeed,  if,  according  to 
some  accounts,  not  very  credible,  they  were  cut  to 
pieces  almost  to  a  man. 12  The  number  of  prisoners  was 
three  thousand.  Among  them  was  Marshal  de  Thermes' 
himself,  who  had  been  disabled  by  a  wound  in  the 
head.  All  the  baggage,  the  ammunition,  and  the 
rich  spoil  gleaned  by  the  foray  into  Flanders,  became 
the  prize  of  the  victors.  Although  not  so  important 
for  the  amount  of  forces  engaged,  the  victory  of 
Gravelines  was  as  complete  as  that  of  St.  Quentin.13 

11  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  21. — De  Thou,  Histoire 
universelle,  torn.  iii.  p.  241. 

12  "  Ma  della  caualleria  niuno  fu  quasi,  ch'  6  non  morisse  combat- 
tendo,  6  non  restasse  prigione,  non  potendosi  saluar  fuggendo  inquei 
luoghi  paludosi,  malageuoli."   Campana,  Vita  del  Re  Filippo  Secondo, 
parte  ii.  lib.  10. 

*3  For  the  accounts  of  this  battle,  see  Campana,  Vita  del  Re  Filippo 
Secondo,  parte  ii.  lib.  10. — Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  21. 
— De  Thou,  Histoire  universelle,  torn.  iii.  pp.  239-241. — Gamier,  His 
toire  de  France,  torn,  xxvii.  p.  513,  et  seq. — Rabutin,  ap.  Nouvelle 
Collection  des  Memoires,  torn.  vii.  p.  598. — Herrera,  Historia  general, 
lib.  v.  cap.  5. — Ferreras,  Histoire  generate  d'Espagne,  torn.  ix.  p.  396. 
— Monpleinchamp,  Vie  du  Due  de  Savoie,  p.  155. — I  know  of  no 
action  of  which  the  accounts  are  so  perfectly  irreconcilable  in  their 
details  as  those  of  the  battle  of  Gravelines.  Authorities  are  not  even 
agreed  as  to  whether  it  was  an  English  fleet  that  fired  on  the  French 
troops.  One  writer  speaks  of  it  as  a  Spanish  squadron  from  Guipus- 
coa.  Another  says  the  marines  landed,  and  engaged  the  enemy  on 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — L  21 


242  WAR  WITH  FRANCE. 

Yet  the  French,  who  had  a  powerful  army  on  foot, 
were  in  better  condition  to  meet  their  reverses  than 
on  that  day.  The  duke  of  Guise,  on  receiving  the 
tidings,  instantly  marched  with  his  whole  force  and 
posted  himself  strongly  behind  the  Somme,  in  order 
to  cover  Picardy  from  invasion.  The  duke  of  Savoy, 
uniting  his  forces  with  those  of  Count  Egmont,  took 
up  a  position  along  the  line  of  the  Authie  and  made 
demonstrations  of  laying  siege  to  Dourlens.  The 
French  and  Spanish  monarchs  both  took  the  field. 
•So  well  appointed  and  large  a  force  as  that  led  by 
Henry  had  not  been  seen  in  France  for  many  a  year: 
yet  that  monarch  might  justly  be  mortified  by  the 
reflection  that  the  greater  part  of  this  force  was  made 
up  of  foreign  mercenaries,  amounting,  it  is  said,  to 
forty  thousand.  Philip  was  in  equal  strength,  and  the 
length  of  the  war  had  enabled  him  to  assemble  his  best 
captains  around  him.  Among  them  was  Alva,  whose 
cautious  counsels  might  serve  to  temper  the  bolder 
enterprise  of  the  duke  of  Savoy. 

A  level  ground,  four  leagues  in  breadth,  lay  between 
the  armies.  Skirmishes  took  place  occasionally  be 
tween  the  light  troops  on  either  side,  and  a  general 
engagement  might  be  brought  on  at  any  moment.  All 
eyes  were  turned  to  the  battle-field,  where  the  two 
greatest  princes  of  Europe  might  so  soon  contend  for 
mastery  with  each  other.  Had  the  fathers  of  these 
princes,  Charles  the  Fifth  and  Francis  the  First,  been 

shore.  It  is  no  easy  matter  to  extract  a  probability  from  many  im 
probabilities.  There  is  one  fact,  however,  and  that  the  most  important 
one,  in  which  all  agree, — that  Count  Egmont  won  a  decisive  victory 
over  the  French  at  Gravelines. 


NEGOTIATIONS  FOR   PEACE.  243 

in  the  field,  such  very  probably  would  have  been  the 
issue.  But  Philip  was  not  disposed  to  risk  the  certain 
advantages  he  had  already  gained  by  a  final  appeal  to 
arms.  And  Henry  was  still  less  inclined  to  peril  all 
— his  capital,  perhaps  his  crown — on  the  hazard  of  a 
single  cast. 

There  were  many  circumstances  which  tended  to 
make  both  monarchs  prefer  a  more  peaceful  arbitra 
ment  of  their  quarrel  and  to  disgust  them  with  the 
war.  Among  these  was  the  ruinous  state  of  their 
finances.14  When  Ruy  Gomez  de  Silva,  as  has  been 
already  stated,  was  sent  to  Spain  by  Philip,  he  was 
ordered  to  avail  himself  of 'every  expedient  that  could 
be  devised  to  raise  money.  Offices  were  put  up  for 
sale  to  the  highest  bidder.  The  public  revenues  were 
mortgaged.  Large  sums  were  obtained  from  merchants 
at  exorbitant  rates  of  interest.  Forced  loans  were  ex 
acted  from  individuals,  especially  from  such  as  were 
known  to  have  received  large  returns  by  the  late  ar 
rivals  from  the  New  World.  Three  hundred  thousand 

J4  There  is  an  interesting  letter  of  Philip's  sister,  the  Regent  Joanna, 
to  her  father,  the  emperor,  then  in  the  monastery  at  Yuste.  It  was 
written  nearly  a  year  before  this  period  of  our  history.  Joanna  gives 
many  good  reasons,  especially  the  disorders  of  his  finances,  which 
made  it  expedient  for  Philip  to  profit  by  his  successful  campaign  to 
conclude  a  peace  with  France.  These  views,  though  they  did  not 
meet  the  approval  of  Charles,  were  the  same  which  now  presented 
themselves  with  such  force  to  both  Philip  and  his  ministers.  The 
capture  of  Calais,  soon  after  the  date  of  Joanna's  letter,  and  the  great 
preparations  made  by  Henry,  threw  a  weight  into  the  enemy's  scale 
which  gave  new  heart  to  the  French  to  prolong  the  contest,  until  it 
ended  with  the  defeat  at  Gravelines. — Carta  de  la  Princesa  Juana  al 
Emperador,  14  de  Diciembre,  1557,  MS. — Carta  del  Emperador  d  la 
Princesa,  26  de  Diciembre,  1557,  MS. 


244  WAR  WITH  FRANCE. 

ducats  were  raised  on  the  security  of  the  coming  fair 
at  Villalon.  The  Regent  Joanna  was  persuaded  to  sell 
her  yearly  pension,  assigned  her  on  the  alcavala,  for 
a  downright  sum,  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  state. 
Goods  were  obtained  from  the  king  of  Portugal,  in 
order  to  be  sent  to  Flanders  for  the  profit  to  be  raised 
on  the  sale.15  Such  were  the  wretched  devices  by 
which  Philip,  who  inherited  this  policy  of  temporizing 
expedients  from  his  father,  endeavored  to  replenish 
his  exhausted  treasury.  Besides  the  sums  drawn  from 
Castile,  the  king  obtained  also  no  less  than  a  million 
and  a  half  of  ducats  as  an  extraordinary  grant  from 
the  states  of  the  Netherlands.16  Yet  these  sums,  large 
as  they  were,  were  soon  absorbed  by  the  expense  of 
keeping  armies  on  foot  in  France  and  in  Italy.  Philip's 
correspondence  with  his  ministers  teems  with  represen 
tations  of  the  low  state  of  his  finances,  of  the  arrears 
due  to  his  troops,  and  the  necessity  of  immediate  sup 
plies  to  save  him  from  bankruptcy.  The  prospects  the 
ministers  hold  out  to  him  in  return  are  any  thing  but 
encouraging.17 

Another  circumstance  which  made  both  princes 
desire  the  termination  of  the  war  was  the  disturbed 

TS  Relatione  di  Giovanni  Micheli,  MS. — Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo, 
lib.  iv.  cap.  2,  4. — Campana,  Vita  di  Filippo  Secondo,  parte  ii.  lib.  n. 

»6  Relatione  di  Giovanni  Micheli,  MS. 

T7  "  Yo  os  digo  que  yo  estoy  de  todo  punto  imposibilitado  &  sostener 
la  guerra.  .  .  .  Estos  terminos  me  parecen  tan  aprestados  que  so  pena 
de  perdenne  no  puedo  dejar  de  concertarme."  Letter  of  Philip  to 
the  Bishop  of  Arras  (February  I2th,  1559),  ap.  Papiers  d'£tat  de  Gran- 
velle,  torn.  v.  p.  454,  et  alibi. — Philip  told  the  Venetian  minister  he 
was  in  such  straits  that,  if  the  French  king  had  not  made  advances 
towards  an  accommodation,  he  should  have  been  obliged  to  do  so 
himself.  Campana,  Vita  di  Filippo  Secondo,  parte  ii.  lib.  n. 


NEGOTIATIONS  FOR   PEACE. 


245 


state  of  their  own  kingdoms.  The  Protestant  heresy 
had  already  begun  to  rear  its  formidable  crest  in  the 
Netherlands ;  and  the  Huguenots  were  beginning  to 
claim  the  notice  of  the  French  government.  Henry 
the  Second,  who  was  penetrated,  as  much  as  Philip 
himself,  with  the  spirit  of  the  Inquisition,  longed  for 
leisure  to  crush  the  heretical  doctrines  in  the  bud. 
In  this  pious  purpose  he  was  encouraged  by  Paul  the 
Fourth,  who,  now  that  he  was  himself  restrained  from 
levying  war  against  his  neighbors,  seemed  resolved  that 
no  one  else  should  claim  that  indulgence.  He  sent 
legates  to  both  Henry  and  Philip,  conjuring  them, 
instead  of  warring  with  each  other,  to  turn  their  arms 
against  the  heretics  in  their  dominions,  who  were 
sapping  the  foundations  of  the  Church.18 

The  pacific  disposition  of  the  two  monarchs  was, 
moreover,  fostered  by  the  French  prisoners,  and  es 
pecially  by  Montmorency,  whose  authority  had  been 
such  at  court  that  Charles  the  Fifth  declared  "his 
capture  was  more  important  than  would  have  been 
that  of  the  king  himself."19  The  old  constable  was 
most  anxious  to  return  to  his  own  country,  where  he 
saw  with  uneasiness  the  ascendency  which  his  absence 
and  the  prolongation  of  the  war  were  giving  to  his 
rival,  Guise,  in  the  royal  counsels.  Through  him 
negotiations  were  opened  with  the  French  court,  until, 
Henry  the  Second  thinking,  with  good  reason,  that 

18  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  16. — Ferreras,  Histoire 
generale  d'Espagne,  torn.  vii.  p.  397. 

X9  "  Hablo  que  era  de  tener  en  mas  la  pressa  del  Condestable,  que 
si  fuera  la  misma  persona  del  Rey,  porque  faltando  el,  falta  el  govierno 
jeneral  todo."  Carta  del  Mayordomo  Don  Luis  Mendez  Quixada  al 
Secretario  Juan  Vazquez  de  Molina,  MS. 

21* 


246  WAR  WITH  FRANCE. 

these  negotiations  would  be  better  conducted  by  a 
regular  congress  than  by  prisoners  in  the  custody  of 
his  enemies,  commissioners  were  appointed  on  both 
sides,  to  arrange  the  terms  of  accommodation.20 
Montmorency  and  his  fellow-captive,  Marshal  St.- 
Andre,  were  included  in  the  commission.  But  the 
person  of  most  importance  in  it,  on  the  part  of 
France,  was  the  cardinal  of  Lorraine,  brother  of  the 
duke  of  Guise,  a  man  of  a  subtle,  intriguing  temper, 
and  one  who,  like  the  rest  of  his  family,  notwithstand 
ing  his  pacific  demonstrations,  may  be  said  to  have 
represented  the  war  party  in  France.21 

On  the  part  of  Spain  the  agents  selected  were  th'e 
men  most  conspicuous  for  talent  and  authority  in  the 
kingdom  ;  the  names  of  some  of  whom,  whether  for 
good  or  for  evil  report,  remain  immortal  on  the  page 
of  history.  Among  these  were  the  duke  of  Alva  and 
his  great  antagonist, — as  he  became  afterwards  in  the 
Netherlands, — William  of  Orange.  But  the  principal 
person  in  the  commission,  the  man  who  in  fact  directed 

30  The  French  government  had  good  reasons  for  its  distrust.  It 
appears  from  the  correspondence  of  Granvelle  that  that  minister  em 
ployed  a  respectable  agent  to  take  charge  of  the  letters  of  St.-Andre, 
and  probably  of  the  other  prisoners,  and  that  these  letters  were  in 
spected  by  Granvelle  before  they  passed  to  the  French  camp.  See 
Papiers  d'fetat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  v.  p.  178. 

2'  Some  historians,  among  them  Sismondi,  seem  to  have  given  more 
credit  to  the  professions  of  the  politic  Frenchman  than  they  deserve 
(Histoire  des  Francais,  torn,  xviij.  p.  73).  Granvelle,  who  understood 
the  character  of  his  antagonist  better,  was  not  so  easily  duped.  A 
memorandum  among  his  papers  thus  notices  the  French  cardinal : 
"  Toute  la  demonstration  que  faisoit  ledict  cardinal  de  Lorraine  de 
desirer  paix,  estoit  chose  faincte  a  la  frai^oise  et  pour  nous  abuser." 
Papiers  d'£tat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  v.  p.  168. 


NEGOTIATIONS  FOR    PEACE.  247 

it,  was  Anthony  Perrenot,  bishop  of  Arras,  better 
known  by  his  later  title  of  Cardinal  Granvelle.  He 
was  son  of  the  celebrated  chancellor  of  that  name 
under  Charles  the  Fifth,  by  whom  he  was  early  trained, 
not  so  much  to  the  duties  of  the  ecclesiastical  profes 
sion  as  of  public  life.  He  profited  so  well  by  the 
instruction  that,  in  the  emperor's  time,  he  succeeded 
his  father  in  the  royal  confidence,  and  surpassed  him 
in  his  talent  for  affairs.  His  accommodating  temper 
combined  with  his  zeal  for  the  interests  of  Philip  to 
recommend  Granvelle  to  the  favor  of  that  monarch ; 
and  his  insinuating  address  and  knowledge  of  charac 
ter  well  qualified  him  for  conducting  a  negotiation 
where  there  were  so  many  jarring  feelings  to  be  brought 
into  concord,  so  many  hostile  and  perplexing  interests 
to  be  reconciled. 

As  a  suspension  of  hostilities  was  agreed  on  during 
the  continuance  of  the  negotiations,  it  was  decided  to 
remove  the  armies  from  the  neighborhood  of  each 
other,  where  a  single  spark  might  at  any  time  lead  to 
a  general  explosion.  A  still  stronger  earnest  was  given 
of  their  pacific  intentions  by  both  the  monarchs' 
disbanding  part  of  their  foreign  mercenaries,  whose 
services  were  purchased  at  a  ruinous  cost,  that  made 
one  of  the  great  evils  of  the  war. 

The  congress  met  on  the  fifteenth  of  October,  1558, 
at  the  abbey  of  Cercamps,  near  Cambray.  Between 
parties  so  well  disposed  it  might  be  thought  that  some 
general  terms  of  accommodation  would  soon  be  settled. 
But  the  war,  which  ran  back  pretty  far  into  Charles  the 
Fifth's  time,  had  continued  so  long  that  many  territo 
ries  had  changed  masters  during  the  contest,  and  it  was 


248  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

not  easy  to  adjust  the  respective  claims  to  them.  The 
duke  of  Savoy's  dominions,  for  example,  had  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Henry  the  Second,  who  moreover 
asserted  an  hereditary  right  to  them  through  his 
grandmother.  Yet  it  was  not  possible  for  Philip  to 
abandon  his  ally,  the  man  whom  he  had  placed  at  the 
head  of  his  armies.  But  the  greatest  obstacle  was 
Calais.  "If  we  return  without  the  recovery  of  Calais," 
said  the  English  envoys,  who  also  took  part  in  this 
congress,  "we  shall  be  stoned  to  death  by  the  peo 
ple."22  Philip  supported  the  claim  of  England;  and  yet 
it  was  evident  that  France  would  never  relinquish  a  post 
so  important  to  herself,  which  after  so  many  years  of 
hope  deferred  had  at  last  come  again  into  her  possession. 
While  engaged  in  the  almost  hopeless  task  of  adjusting 
these  differences,  an  event  occurred  which  suspended 
the  negotiations  for  a  time  and  exercised  an  important 
influence  on  the  affairs  of  Europe.  This  was  the  death  of 
one  of  the  parties  to  the  war,  Queen  Mary  of  England. 
Mary's  health  had  been  fast  declining  of  late,  under 
the  pressure  of  both  mental  and  bodily  disease.  The 
loss  of  Calais  bore  heavily  on  her  spirits,  as  she  thought 
of  the  reproach  it  would  bring  on  her  reign  and  the 
increased  unpopularity  it  would  draw  upon  herself. 
"When  I  die,"  she  said,  in  the  strong  language  since 
made  familiar  to  Englishmen  by  the  similar  expression 
of  their  great  admiral,  "  Calais  will  be  found  written 
on  my  heart."23 

22  "  Adjoustant  que,  si  Calaix  demeuroit  aux  Frar^ois.  ny  luy  ny 
ses  collogues  n'oseroyent  retourner  en  Angleterre,  et  que  certainement 
le  peuple  les  lapideroit."  Papiers  d'etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  v.  p.  319. 

a3  "  Were  I  to  die  this  moment,  want  of  frigates  would  be  found 
written  on  my  heart."  The  original  of  this  letter  of  Nelson  is  in  the 


MARY'S  DEATH. 


249 


Philip,  who  was  not  fully  apprised  of  the  queen's  low 
condition,  early  in  November  sent  the  count,  afterwards 
duke,  of  Feria  as  his  envoy  to  London,  with  letters  for 
Mary.  This  nobleman,  who  had  married  one  of  the 
queen's  maids  of  honor,  stood  high  in  the  favor  of  his 
master.  With  courtly  manners,  and  a  magnificent  way 
of  living,  he  combined  a  shrewdness  and  solidity  of  judg 
ment  that  eminently  fitted  him  for  his  present  mission. 
The  queen  received  with  great  joy  the  letters  which  he 
brought  her,  though  too  ill  to  read  them.  Feria,  seeing 
the  low  state  of  Mary's  health,  was  earnest  with  the 
council  to  secure  the  succession  for  Elizabeth. 

He  had  the  honor  of  supping  with  the  princess  at 
her  residence  in  Hatfield,  about  eighteen  miles  from 
London.  The  Spaniard  enlarged,  in  the  course  of 
conversation,  on  the  good  will  of  his  master  to  Eliza 
beth,  as  shown  in  the  friendly  offices  he  had  rendered 
her  during  her  imprisonment,  and  his  desire  to  have 
her  succeed  to  the  crown.  The  envoy  did  not  add 
that  this  desire  was  prompted  not  so  much  by  the 
king's  concern  for  the  interests  of  Elizabeth  as  by 
his  jealousy  of  the  French,  who  seemed  willing  to 
countenance  the  pretensions  of  Mary  Stuart,  the  wife 
of  the  dauphin,  to  the  English  throne.24  The  princess 

curious  collection  of  autograph  letters  which  belonged  to  the  late  Sir 
Robert  Peel. 

24  Philip's  feelings  in  this  matter  may  be  gathered  from  a  passage  in 
a  letter  to  Granvelle,  in  which  he  says  that  the  death  of  the  young 
queen  of  Scots,  then  very  ill,  would  silence  the  pretensions  which  the 
French  made  to  England,  and  relieve  Spain  from  a  great  embarrass 
ment  :  "  Si  la  reyna  mo9a  se  muriesse,  que  diz  que  anda  muy  mala, 
nos  quitaria  de  hartos  embara9os  y  del  derecho  que  pretenden  a  In- 
glaterra."  Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  v.  p.  643. 


250 


WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 


acknowledged  the  protection  she  had  received  from 
Philip  in  her  troubles.  "  But  for  her  present  pros 
pects,"  she  said,  "she  was  indebted  neither  to  the 
king  nor  to  the  English  lords,  however  much  these 
latter  might  vaunt  their  fidelity.  It  was  to  the  people 
that  she  owed  them,  and  on  the  people  she  relied."25 
This  answer  of  Elizabeth  furnishes  the  key  to  her 
success. 

The  penetrating  eye  of  the  envoy  soon  perceived 
that  the  English  princess  was  under  evil  influences. 
The  persons  most  in  her  confidence,  he  wrote,  were 
understood  to  have  a  decided  leaning  to  the  Lutheran 
heresy,  and  he  augured  most  unfavorably  for  the  future 
prospects  of  the  kingdom. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  November,  1558,  after  a  brief 
but  most  disastrous  reign,  Queen  Mary  died.  Her  fate 
has  been  a  hard  one.  Unimpeachable  in  her  private 
life,  and,  however  misguided,  with  deeply-seated  re 
ligious  principles,  she  has  yet  left  a  name  held  in  more 
general  execration  than  any  other  on  the  roll  of  English 
sovereigns.  One  obvious  way  of  accounting  for  this, 
doubtless,  is  by  the  spirit  of  persecution  which  hung 
like  a  dark  cloud  over  her  reign.  And  this  not  merely 
on  account  of  the  persecution, — for  that  was  common 
with  the  line  of  Tudor, — but  because  it  was  directed 
against  the  professors  of  a  religion  which  came  to  be 

25  "  Tras  esto  veola  muy  indignada  de  las  cosas  que  se  ban  hecho 
contra  ella  en  vida  de  la  Reina:  muy  asidi  al  pueblo,  y  muy  confiada 
que  lo  tiene  todo  de  su  parte  (como  es  verd;  d).  y  dando  a  entender 
que  el  Pueblo  la  ha  puesto  en  el  estado  que  estd ;  y  de  esto  no  reco- 
noce  nada  a  V.  M.  ni  d.  la  nobleza  del  Reino,  aunque  dice  que  la  ban 
enviado  d  prometer  todos  que  le  seran  fieles."  Memorias  de  la  Real 
Academia  de  la  Historia  (Madrid,  1832),  torn.  vii.  p.  254. 


MARY'S  DEATH.  251 

the  established  religion  of  the  country.  Thus  the 
blood  of  the  martyr  became  the  seed  of  a  great  and 
powerful  church,  ready  through  all  after-time  to  bear 
testimony  to  the  ruthless  violence  of  its  oppressor. 

There  was  still  another  cause  of  Mary's  unpopularity. 
The  daughter  of  Katharine  of  Aragon  could  not  fail  to 
•be  nurtured  in  a  reverence  for  the  illustrious  line  from 
which  she  was  descended.  The  education  begun  in 
the  cradle  was  continued  in  later  years.  When  the 
young  princess  was  betrothed  to  her  cousin,  Charles 
the  Fifth,  it  was  stipulated  that  she  should  be  made 
acquainted  with  the  language  and  the  institutions  of  Cas 
tile,  and  should  even  wear  the  costume  of  the  country. 
"And  who,"  exclaimed  Henry  the  Eighth,  "is  so 
well  fitted  to  instruct  her  in  all  this  as  the  queen,  her 
mother?"  Even  after  the  match  with  her  imperial 
suitor  was  broken  off  by  his  marriage  with  the  Portu 
guese  infanta,  Charles  still  continued  to  take  a  lively 
interest  in  the  fortunes  of  his  young  kinswoman  ;  while 
she,  in  her  turn,  naturally  looked  to  the  emperor,  as 
her  nearest  relative,  for  counsel  and  support.  Thus 
drawn  towards  Spain  by  the  ties  of  kindred,  by  sympa 
thy,  and  by  interest,  Mary  became  in  truth  more  of  a 
Spanish  than  an  English  woman;  and  when  all  this  was 
completed  by  the  odious  Spanish  match,  and  she  gave 
her  hand  to  Philip  the  Second,  the  last  tie  seemed  to 
be  severed  which  had  bound  her  to  her  native  land. 
Thenceforth  she  remained  an  alien  in  the  midst  of  her 
own  subjects.  Very  different  was  the  fate  of  her  sister 
and  successor,  Elizabeth,  who  ruled  over  her  people 
like  a  true-hearted  English  queen,  under  no  influence 
and  with  no  interests  distinct  from  theirs.  She  was 


252  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

requited  for  it  by  the  most  loyal  devotion  on  their 
part ;  while  round  her  throne  have  gathered  those 
patriotic  recollections  which,  in  spite  of  her  many 
errors,  still  render  her  name  dear  to  Englishmen. 

On  the  death  of  her  sister,  Elizabeth,  without  oppo 
sition,  ascended  the  throne  of  her  ancestors.  It  may 
not  be  displeasing  to  the  reader  to  see  the  portrait  of 
her  sketched  by  the  Venetian  minister  at  this  period,  or 
rather  two  years  earlier,  when  she  was  twenty-three 
years  of  age.  "The  princess,"  he  says,  "is  as  beautiful 
in  mind  as  she  is  in  body;  though  her  countenance  is 
rather  pleasing  from  its  expression,  than  beautiful.26 
She  is  large  and  well  made ;  her  complexion  clear, 
and  of  an  olive  tint ;  her  eyes  are  fine,  and  her  hands, 
on  which  she  prides  herself,  small  and  delicate.  She 
has  an  excellent  genius,  with  much  address  and  self- 
command,  as  was  abundantly  shown  in  the  severe  trials 
to  which  she  was  exposed  in  the  earlier  part  of  her  life. 
In  her  temper  she  is  haughty  and  imperious,  qualities 
inherited  from  her  father,  King  Henry  the  Eighth, 
who,  from  her  resemblance  to  himself,  is  said  to  have 
regarded  her  with  peculiar  fondness."27  He  had,  it 
must  be  owned,  an  uncommon  way  of  showing  it. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  Elizabeth  was  to  write  an 

26  "  Non  manco  bella  d"  animo  che  sia  di  corpo  ;  ancor'  che  di  faccia 
si  pu6  dir'  che  sia  piu  tosto  gratiosa  che  bella."  Relatione  di  Giovanni 
Micheli,  MS. 

=7  "  Delia  persona  e  grande,  et  ben  formata,  di  bella  carne,  ancor  che 
olivastra,  begl'  occhi,  et  sopra  tutto  bella  mano,  di  che  fa  professione, 
d'  un  spirito,  et  ingegno  mirabile :  il  che  ha  saputo  molto  ben  dimostrare, 
con  1'  essersi  saputa  ne  i  sospetti,  et  pericoli  ne  i  quali  s*  e  ritrovata  cosi 
ben  governare.  ...  Si  tien  superba,  et  gloriosa  per  il  padre;  del 
quale  dicono  tutti  che  e  anco  piu  simile,  et  per  cio  gli  fu  sempre  cara." 
Ibid. 


ACCESSION  OF  ELIZABETH.  253 

elegant  Latin  epistle  to  Philip,  in  which  she  acquainted 
him  with  her  accession  to  the  crown,  and  expressed 
the  hope  that  they  should  continue  to  maintain" "  the 
same  friendly  relations  as  their  ancestors  had  done, 
and,  if  possible,  more  friendly." 

Philip  received  the  tidings  of  his  wife's  death  at 
Brussels,  where  her  obsequies  were  celebrated  with 
great  solemnity,  on  the  same  day  with  her  funeral  in 
London.  All  outward  show  of  respect  was  paid  to 
her  memory.  But  it  is  doing  no  injustice  to  Philip 
to  suppose  that  his  heart  was  not  very  deeply  touched 
by  the  loss  of  a  wife  so  many  years  older  than  himself, 
whose  temper  had  been  soured,  and  whose  personal 
attractions,  such  as  they  were,  had  long  since  faded 
under  the  pressure  of  disease.  Still,  it  was  not  without 
feelings  of  deep  regret  that  the  ambitious  monarch  saw 
the  sceptre  of  England — barren  though  it  had  proved 
to  him — thus  suddenly  snatched  from  his  grasp. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Philip,  during  his  resi 
dence  in  the  country,  had  occasion  more  than  once  to 
interpose  his  good  offices  in  behalf  of  Elizabeth.  It 
was  perhaps  the  friendly  relation  in  which  he  thus  stood 
to  her,  quite  as  much  as  her  personal  qualities,  that 
excited  in  the  king  a  degree  of  interest  which  seems  to 
have  provoked  something  like  jealousy  in  the  bosom 
of  his  queen.28  However  this  may  be,  motives  of  a 
very  different  character  from  those  founded  on  senti 
ment  now  determined  him  to  retain,  if  possible,  his 

28  The  Spanish  minister,  Feria,  desired  his  master  to  allow  him  to 
mention  Mary's  jealousy,  as  an  argument  to  recommend  his  suit  to  the 
favor  of  Elizabeth.     But  Philip  had  the  good  feeling — or  good  taste — 
to  refuse.     Memorias  de  la  Real  Academia,  torn.  vii.  p.  260. 
Philip. — VOL.  I.  22 


254  WAR  WITH  FRANCE. 

hold  on  England,  by  transferring  to  Elizabeth  the 
connection  which  had  subsisted  with  Mary. 

A  month  had  not  elapsed  since  Mary's  remains  were 
laid  in  Westminster  Abbey,  when  the  royal  widower 
made  direct  offers,  through  his  ambassador,  Feria,  for 
the  hand  of  her  successor.  Yet  his  ardor  did  not  pre 
cipitate  him  into  any  unqualified  declaration  of  his 
passion :  on  the  contrary,  his  proposals  were  limited 
by  some  very  prudent  conditions. 

It  was  to  be  understood  that  Elizabeth  must  be  a 
Roman  Catholic,  and,  if  not  one  already,  must  repu 
diate  her  errors  and  become  one.  She  was  to  obtain 
a  dispensation  from  the  pope  for  the  marriage.  Philip 
was  to  be  allowed  to  visit  Spain  whenever  he  deemed 
it  necessary  for  the  interests  of  that  kingdom, — a  pro 
vision  which  seems  to  show  that  Mary's  over-fondness, 
or  her  jealousy,  must  have  occasioned  him  some  incon 
venience  on  that  score.  It  was  further  to  be  stipulated 
that  the  issue  of  the  marriage  should  not,  as  was  agreed 
in  the  contract  with  Mary,  inherit  the  Netherlands, 
which  were  to  pass  to  his  son  Don  Carlos,  the  prince 
of  Asturias. 

Feria  was  directed  to  make  these  proposals  by  word 
of  mouth,  not  in  writing;  "although,"  adds  his  con 
siderate  master,  "  it  is  no  disgrace  for  a  man  to  have 
his  proposals  rejected,  when  they  are  founded,  not  on 
worldly  considerations,  but  on  zeal  for  his  Maker  and 
the  interests  of  religion." 

Elizabeth  received  the  offer  of  Philip's  hand,  quali 
fied  as  it  was,  in  the  most  gracious  manner.  She  told 
the  ambassador,  indeed,  that  "  in  a  matter  of  this  kind 
she  could  take  no  step  without  consulting  her  parlia- 


ACCESSION  OF  ELIZABETH.  255 

ment.  But  his  master  might  rest  assured  that,  should 
she  be  induced  to  marry,  there  was  no  man  she  should 
prefer  to  him."  29  Philip  seems  to  have  been  contented 
with  the  encouragement  thus  given,  and  shortly  after 
he  addressed  Elizabeth  a  letter,  written  with  his  own 
hand,  in  which  he  endeavored  to  impress  on  her  how 
much  he  had  at  heart  the  success  of  his  ambassador's 
mission. 

The  course  of  events  in  England,  however,  soon 
showed  that  such  success  was  not  to  be  relied  on,  and 
that  Feria's  prognostics  in  regard  to  the  policy  of 
Elizabeth  were  well  founded.  Parliament  soon  entered 
on  the  measures  which  ended  in  the  subversion  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  and  the  restoration  of  the  Reformed 
religion-.  And  it  was  very  evident  that  these  measures, 
if  not  originally  dictated  by  the  queen,  must  at  least 
have  received  her  sanction. 

Philip,  in  consequence,  took  counsel  with  two  of  his 
ministers,  on  whom  he  most  relied,  as  to  the  expediency 
of  addressing  Elizabeth  on  the  subject  and  telling  her 
plainly  that  unless  she  openly  disavowed  the  proceed 
ings  of  parliament  the  marriage  could  not  take  place.30 
Her  vanity  should  be  soothed  by  the  expressions  of  his 
regret  at  being  obliged  to  relinquish  the  hopes  of  her 
hand.  Eut,  as  her  lover  modestly  remarked,  after  this 

=9  "  Dijo  que  convendria  consultarlo  con  el  Parlamento ;  bien  que 
el  Rey  Catolico  debia  estar  seguro  que  en  caso  de  casarse,  seria  el 
preferido  a  tot'os."  Memorias  de  la  Real  Academia,  torn.  vii.  p.  264. 

3<>  "  Paresceme  que  seria  bien  que  el  conde  le  hablasse  claro  en  estas 
cosas  de  la  religion,  y  la  amonestasse  y  rogasse  de  mi  parte  que  no 
hiziesse  en  este  parlamento  mudanga  en  ella,  y  que  si  la  hiciesse  que 
yo  no  podria  vcnir  en  lo  del  casamiento,  como  en  effecto  novendria." 
Carta  del  Rey  Phelipe  al  Duque  de  Alba,  7  de  Febrero,  1559,  MS. 


256  /''.-/A'    IV ITU  FRANCE. 

candid  statement  of  all  the  consequences  before  her, 
whatever  the  result  might  be,  she  would  have  no  one 
to  blame  but  herself.31  His  sage  advisers,  probably  not 
often  called  to  deliberate  on  questions  of  this  delicate 
nature,  entirely  concurred  in  opinion  with  their  master. 
In  any  event,  they  regarded  it  as  impossible  that  he 
should  wed  a  Protestant. 

What  effect  this  frank  remonstrance  had  on  the  queen 
we  are  not  told.  Certain  it  is,  Philip's  suit  no  longer 
sped  so  favorably  as  before.  Elizabeth,  throwing  off 
all  disguise,  plainly  told  Feria,  when  pressed  on  the 
matter,  that  she  felt  great  scruples  as  to  seeking  a  dis 
pensation  from  the  pope ; 3a  and  soon  after  she  openly 
declared  in  parliament,  what  she  was  in  the  habit  of 
repeating  so  often,  that  she  had  no  other  purpose  1  ut 
to  live  and  die  a  maid.33  It  can  hardly  be  supposed 
that  Elizabeth  entertained  serious  thoughts,  at  any 
time,  of  marrying  Philip.  If  she  encouraged  his 
addresses,  it  was  only  until  she  felt  herself  so  securely 
seated  on  the  throne  that  she  was  independent  of  the 
ill  will  she  would  incur  by  their  rejection.  It  was  a 
game  in  which  the  heart,  probably,  formed  no  part  of 
the  stake  on  either  side.  In  this  game,  it  must  be 

3*  "  Convendria  que  hablasse  claro  a  la  Reyna.  y  le  dixesse  rasa- 
mente  que  aunque  yo  desseo  mucho  este  negocio  (y  por  aqui  evanes- 
9ella  quanto  pudiesse),  pero  que  entendiesse  que  si  haria  mudar^a  en 
la  religion,  yo  lo  hacia  en  este  desseo  y  voluntad,  por  que  despues  no 
pudiesse  dezir  que  no  se  le  avia  dicho  antes."  Carta  del  Rey  Phelipe 
al  Duque  de  Alba,  7  de  Febrero,  1559,  MS. 

s2  "  Dijo  que  pensaba  estar  sin  casarse,  porque  tenia  mucho  escru- 
pulo  en  lo  de  la  dispensa  del  Papa."  Memorias  de  la  Real  Academia, 
torn.  vii.  p.  265. 

33  Ibid.,  p.  266. 


TREATY  OF  CATEAU-CAMBRESIS.  257 

confessed,  the  English  queen  showed  herself  the  better 
player  of  the  two. 

Philip  bore  his  disappointment  with  great  equa 
nimity.  He  expressed  his  regret  to  Elizabeth  that 
she  should  have  decided  in  a  way  so  contrary  to  what 
the  public  interests  seemed  to  demand.  But,  since 
it  appeared  to  her  otherwise,  he  should  acquiesce,  and 
only  hoped  that  the  same  end  might  be  attained  by 
the  continuance  of  their  friendship.34  With  all  this 
philosophy,  we  may  well  believe  that,  with  a  character 
like  that  of  Philip,  some  bitterness  must  have  remained 
in  the  heart,  and  that,  very  probably,  feelings  of  a  per 
sonal  nature  mingled  with  those  of  a  political  in  the 
long  hostilities  which  he  afterwards  carried  on  with  the 
English  queen. 

In  the  month  of  February  the  conferences  for  the 
treaty  had  been  resumed,  and  the  place  of  meeting 
changed  from  the  abbey  of  Cercamps  to  Cateau- 
Cambresis.  The  negotiations  were  urged  forward 
with  greater  earnestness  than  before,  as  both  the  mon- 
archs  were  more  sorely  pressed  by  their  necessities. 
Philip,  in  particular,  was  so  largely  in  arrears  to  his 
army  that  he  frankly  told  his  ministers  "he  was  on  the 
brink  of  ruin,  from  which  nothing  but  a  peace  could 
save  him."35  It  might  be  supposed  that,  in  this  state 

34  "  Aunque  habia  recibido  pena  de  no  haberse  concluido  cosa  que 
tanto  deseaba,  y  parecia  convenir  al  bien  publico,  pues  a  ella  no  le 
habia  parecido  tan  necessario,  y  que  con  buena  amistad  se  conseguiria 
el  mismo  fin,  quedaba  satisfecho  y  contento."     Memorias  de  la  Real 
Academia,  torn.  vii.  p.  265. 

35  The  duke  of  Savoy,  in  a  letter  to  Granvelle.  says  that  the  king  is 
in  arrears  more  than  a  million  of  crowns  to  the  German  troops  alone  ; 
and,  unless  the  ministers  have  some  mysterious  receipt  for  raising 

22* 


258  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

of  things,  he  would  be  placed  in  a  disadvantageous 
attitude  for  arranging  terms  with  his  adversary.  But 
Philip  and  his  ministers  put  the  best  face  possible  on 
their  affairs,  affecting  a  confidence  in  their  resources, 
before  their  allies  as  well  as  their  enemies,  which  they 
were  far  from  feeling;  like  some  half- famished  gar 
rison,  which  makes  a  brave  show  of  its  scanty  stock 
of  supplies,  in  order  to  win  better  terms  from  the 
besiegers.36 

All  the  difficulties  were  at  length  cleared  away,  ex 
cept  the  vexed  question  of  Calais.  The  English  queen, 
it  was  currently  said  in  the  camp,  would  cut  off  the 
head  of  any  minister  who  abandoned  it.  Mary,  the 
young  queen  of  Scots,  had  just  been  married  to  the 
French  dauphin,  afterwards  Francis  the  Second.  It 
was  proposed  that  the  eldest  daughter  born  of  this 
union  should  be  united  to  the  eldest  son  of  Elizabeth 
and  bring  with  her  Calais  as  a  dowry.  In  this  way  the 
place  would  be  restored  to  England  without  dishonor 
to  France.37  Such  were  the  wild  expedients  to  which 

money,  beyond  his  knowledge,  Philip  will  be  in  the  greatest  embar 
rassment  that  any  sovereign  ever  was :  "  No  ay  un  real  y  deveseles  d 
la  gente  alemana,  demas  de  lo  que  seles  a  pagado  aora  de  la  vieja 
deuda,  mas  d'un  mylion  d'escudos.  .  .  .  Por  esso  mirad  como  hazeys, 
que  sino  se  haze  la  paz  yo  veo  el  rey  puesto  en  el  mayor  trance  que  rey 
s'a  visto  jamas,  si  61  no  tiene  otros  dineros,  que  yo  no  se,  6  que  el  senor 
Eraso  alle  algun  secretto  que  tiene  reservado  para  esto."  Papiers 
d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  v.  p.  458. 

s6  The  minister  in  London  was  instructed  to  keep  up  the  same  show 
of  confidence  to  the  English  :  "  Todavia  mostramos  rostro  6.  los  Fran 
ceses,  como  tambien  es  menester  que  alia  se  haga  con  los  Ingleses,  que 
no  se  puede  confiar  que  no  vengan  Franceses  d  saber  dellos  lo  que  alii 
podrian  entender."  Ibid.,  p.  479. 

37  Ibid.,  p.  468. — "  That  the  said  Dolphin's  and  Queen  of  Scott's 
eldest  daughter  shall  marry  with  your  highnes  eldest  sonne,  who  with 


TREATY  OF  CATEAU-CAMBRESIS. 


259 


the  parties  resorted  in  the  hope  of  extricating  them 
selves  from  their  embarrassment ! 

At  length,  seeing  the  absolute  necessity  of  bringing 
the  matter  to  an  issue,  Philip  ordered  the  Spanish  pleni 
potentiaries  to  write  his  final  instructions  to  Feria,  his 
minister  in  London.  The  envoy  was  authorized  to  say 
that,  although  England  had  lost  Calais  through  her  own 
negligence,  yet  Philip  would  stand  faithfully  by  her  for 
the  recovery  of  it.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  she  must 
be  prepared  to  support  him  with  her  whole  strength  by 
land  and  by  sea,  and  that  not  for  a  single  campaign, 
but  for  the  war  so  long  as  it  lasted.  The  government 
should  ponder  well  whether  the  prize  would  be  worth 
the  cost.  Feria  must  bring  the  matter  home  to  the 
queen,  and  lead  her,  if  possible,  to  the  desired  conclu 
sion,  but  so  that  she  might  appear  to  come  to  it  by  her 
own  suggestion  rather  than  by  his.  The  responsibility 
must  be  left  with  her.38  The  letter  of 'the  plenipoten 
tiaries,  which  is  a  very  long  one,  is  a  model  in  its  way, 
and  shows  that,  in  some  particulars,  the  science  of 
diplomacy  has  gained  little  since  the  sixteenth  century. 

Elizabeth  needed  no  argument  to  make  her  weary  of 

her  shall  have  Callice."  Forbes,  State  Papers  of  Elizabeth,  vol.  i.  p. 
54.  It  seemed  to  be  taken  for  granted  that  Elizabeth  was  not  to  die  a 
maiden  queen,  notwithstanding  her  assertions,  so  often  reiterated,  to 
the  contrary. 

3*  "  Hablando  con  la  reyna  sin  persuadirla,  ny  &  la  paz,  ny  a  que 
dexe  Calaix,  ny  tampoco  d  que  venga  bien  a  las  otras  condiciones 
propuestas  por  los  Franceses,  para  que  en  ningun  tiempo  pueda  dezir 
que  de  parte  de  S.  M.  la  hayan  persuadido  a  cosa  que  qui9a  despues 
pensasse  que  no  le  estuviesse  bien,  V.  S.  tenga  respecto  d.  proponerle 
las  razones  en  balanca,  de  rnanera  que  pesen  siempre  mucho  mas  las 
]ue  la  han  de  inclinar  al  concierto."  Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle, 
.om.  v.  p.  479. 


260  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

a  war  which  hung  like  a  dark  cloud  on  the  morning  of 
her  reign.  Her  disquietude  had  been  increased  by  the 
fact  of  Scotland  having  become  a  party  to  the  war ; 
and  hostilities,  with  little  credit  to  that  country,  had 
broken  out  along  the  borders.  Her  own  kingdom  was 
in  no  condition  to  allow  her  to  make  the  extraordinary 
efforts  demanded  by  Philip.  Yet  it  was  plain,  if  she 
did  not  make  them,  or  consent  to  come  into  the  treaty, 
she  must  be  left  to  carry  on  the  war  by  herself.  Under 
these  circumstances,  the  English  government  at  last 
consented  to  an  arrangement  which,  if  it  did  not  save 
Calais,  so  far  saved  appearances  that  it  might  satisfy 
the  nation.  It  was  agreed  that  Calais  should  be  re 
stored  at  the  end  of  eight  years.  If  France  failed  to 
do  this,  she  was  to  pay  five  hundred  thousand  crowns 
to  England,  whose  claims  to  Calais  would  not,  how 
ever,  be  affected  by  such  a  payment.  Should  either 
of  the  parties,  or  their  subjects,  during  that  period,  do 
anything  in  contravention  of  this  treaty,  or  in  viola 
tion  of  the  peace  between  the  two  countries,  the  of 
fending  party  should  forfeit  all  claim  to  the  disputed 
territory.39  It  was  not  very  probable  that  eight  years 
would  elapse  without  affording  some  plausible  pretext 
to  France,  under  such  a  provision,  for  keeping  her  hold 
on  Calais. 

The  treaty  with  England  was  signed  on  the  second 
of  April,  1559.  On  the  day  following  was  signed  that 
between  France  and  Spain.  By  the  provisions  of  this 
treaty,  the  allies  of  Philip,  Savoy,  Mantua,  Genoa,  were 
reinstated  in  the  possession  of  the  territories  of  which 

39  See  the  treaty,  in  Dumont,  Corps  diplomatique  (Amsterdam, 
1728),  torn.  v.  p.  31. 


TREATY  OF   CATEAU-CAMBRESIS.  26l 

they  had  been  stripped  in  the  first  years  of  the  war. 
Four  or  five  places  of  importance  in  Savoy  were  alone 
reserved,  to  be  held  as  guarantees  by  the  French  king 
until  his  claim  to  the  inheritance  of  that  duchy  was 
determined. 

The  conquests  made  by  Philip  in  Picardy  were  to  be 
exchanged  for  those  gained  by  the  French  in  Italy  and 
the  Netherlands.  The  exchange  was  greatly  for  the 
benefit  of  Philip.  In  the  time  of  Charles  the  Fifth 
the  Spanish  arms  had  experienced  some  severe  reverses, 
and  the  king  now  received  more  than  two  hundred 
towns  in  return  for  the  five  places  he  held  in  Picardy.40 

Terms  so  disadvantageous  to  France  roused  the  in 
dignation  of  the  duke  of  Guise,  whb  told  Henry  plainly 
that  a  stroke  of  his  pen  would  cost  the  country  more 
than  thirty  years  of  war.  "  Give  me  the  poorest  of 
the  places  you  are  to  surrender,"  said  he,  "and  I  will 
undertake  to  hold  it  against  all  the  armies  of  Spain  !"  4I 
But  Henry  sighed  for  peace,  and  for  the  return  of  his 
friend  the  constable.  He  affected  much  deference  to 
the  opinions  of  the  duke.  But  he  wrote  to  Mont- 
morency  that  the  Guises  were  at  their  old  tricks,42 — 
and  he  ratified  the  treaty. 

The  day  on  which  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  three 
great  powers  had  completed  their  work,  they  went  in 
solemn  procession  to  the  church  and  returned  thanks 
to  the  Almighty  for  the  happy  consummation  of  their 
labors.  The  treaty  was  then  made  public ;  and,  not- 

4°  Garnier,  Histoire  de  France,  torn,  xxvii.  p.  570. 

4'  "  Mettez-moi,  sire,  dans  la  plus  mauvaise  des  places  qu'on  vous 
propose  d'abandonner,  et  que  vos  ennemis  tachent  de  m'en  deloger." 
Gaillard,  Rivalite  de  la  France  et  de  1'Espagne,  torn.  v.  p.  294. 

42  Garnier,  Histoire  de  France,  torn,  xxvii.  p.  567. 


262  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

withstanding  the  unfavorable  import  of  the  terms  to 
France,  the  peace,  if  we  except  some  ambitious  spirits, 
who  would  have  found  their  account  in  the  continuance 
of  hostilities,  was  welcomed  with  joy  by  the  whole 
nation.  In  this  sentiment  all  the  parties  to  the  war 
participated.  The  more  remote,  like  Spain,  rejoiced 
to  be  delivered  from  a  contest  which  made  such  large 
drains  on  their  finances;  while  France  had  an  ad 
ditional  reason  for  desiring  peace,  now  that  her  own 
territory  had  become  the  theatre  of  war. 

The  reputation  which  Philip  had  acquired  by  his 
campaigns  was  greatly  heightened  by  the  result  of  his 
negotiations.  The  whole  course  of  these  negotiations 
— long  and  intricate  as  it  was — is  laid  open  to  us  in 
the  correspondence  fortunately  preserved  among  the 
papers  of  Granvelle;  and  the  student  who  explores 
these  pages  may  probably  rise  from  them  with  the 
conviction  that  the  Spanish  plenipotentiaries  showed 
an  address,  a  knowledge  of  the  men  they  had  to  deal 
with,  and  a  consummate  policy,  in  which  neither  their 
French  nor  English  rivals  were  a  match  for  them. 
The  negotiation  all  passed  under  the  eyes  of  Philip. 
Every  move  in  the  game,  if  not  by  his  suggestion,  had 
been  made  at  least  with  his  sanction.  The  result  placed 
him  in  honorable  contrast  to  Henry  the  Second,  who, 
while  Philip  had  stood  firmly  by  his  allies,  had,  in 
his  eagerness  for  peace,  abandoned  those  of  France 
to  their  fate. 

The  early  campaigns  of  Philip  had  wiped  away  the 
disgrace  caused  by  the  closing  campaigns  of  Charles 
the  Fifth ;  and  by  the  treaty  he  had  negotiated,  the 
number  of  towns  which  he  lost  was  less  than  that 


TREATY  OF  CATEAU-CAMBRESIS.  263 

of  provinces  which  he  gained.43  Thus  he  had  shown 
himself  as  skilful  in  counsel  as  he  had  been  successful 
in  the  field.  Victorious  in  Picardy  and  in  Naples,  he 
had  obtained  the  terms  of  a  victor  from  the  king  of 
France,  and  humbled  the  arrogance  of  Rome,  in  a  war 
to  which  he  had  been  driven  in  self-defence.44  Faithful 

43  "  Pour  tant  de  restitutions  ou  de  concessions  que  revenoit-il  a  la 
France  ?  moins  de  places  qu'elle  ne  cedoit  de  provinces."     Gaillard, 
Rivalite  de  la  France  et  de  1'Espagne,  torn.  v.  p.  292.* 

44  Charles  the  Fifth,  who,  in  his  monastic  seclusion  at  Yuste,  might 
naturally  have  felt  more  scruples  at  a  collision  with  Rome  than  when, 
in  earlier  days,  he  held  the  pope  a  prisoner  in  his  capital,  decidedly 
approved  of  his  son's  course.     It  was  a  war  of  necessity,  he  said,  in  a 
letter  to  Juan  Vazquez  de  Molina,  and  Philip  would  stand  acquitted 
of  the  consequences  before  God  and  man  :    "  Pues  no  se  puede  hazer 
otra  cosa,  y  el  Rey  se  ha  justificado  en  tantas  maneras  cumpliendo  con 
Dios  y  el  mundo,  por  escusar  los  danos  que  dello  se  seguiran,  forzado 
sera  usar  del  ultimo  remedio."     Carta  del  Emperador  d  Juan  Vaz 
quez  de  Molina,  8  de  Agosto,  1557,  MS. 


*  [The  language  of  the  text  is  an  incorrect  version  of  Gaillard's 
somewhat  rhetorical  statement.  The  provinces  "lost"  by  France  were 
"gained,"  not  by  Philip,  but  by  his  allies.  The  chief  cession  made 
by  the  former  power  was  that  of  territory  belonging  to  Savoy,  including 
that  duchy,  Bresse  and  Bugey,  and  the  greater  part  of  Piedmont, — 
what,  in  short,  was  considered  the  "  natural  frontier"  of  France  on  the 
side  of  Italy.  Hence  the  indignation  which  the  treaty  excited  at  the 
time,  and  with  which  it  is  still  referred  to  by  French  historians.  The 
other  conquests  of  France  in  the  same  quarter  and  in  Corsica  were 
surrendered  to  Mantua  and  Genoa  respectively.  On  the  side  of  the 
Netherlands  the  "two  hundred"  places  restored  to  Philip  consisted 
chiefly  of  insignificant  castles  and  villages,  the  exceptions  being  Thion- 
ville  and  one  or  two  other  strong  places,  the  loss  of  which  was  more 
than  balanced  by  the  recovery  of  Saint-Quentin  and  the  adjacent 
fortresses.  There  was  also  a  virtual  abandonment  by  the  Empire  of 
its  claim  to  the  "three  bishoprics," — Metz,  Toul,  and  Verdun.  Had 
Ferdinand  and  the  electors  insisted  on  their  restitution,  Philip  was 
apparently  prepared  to  make  this  a  sine  qua  non  of  peace. — ED.] 


264  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

to  his  allies  and  formidable  to  his  foes,  there  was  prob 
ably  no  period  of  Philip's  life  in  which  he  possessed  so 
much  real  consideration  in  the  eyes  of  Europe  as  at  the 
time  of  signing  the  treaty  of  Cateau-Cambresis. 

In  order  to  cement  the  union  between  the  different 
powers,  and  to  conciliate  the  good  will  of  the  French 
nation  to  the  treaty  by  giving  it  somewhat  of  the  air 
of  a  marriage-contract,  it  was  proposed  that  an  alliance 
should  take  place  between  the  royal  houses  of  France 
and  Spain.  It  was  first  arranged  that  the  hand  of 
Henry's  daughter,  the-  Princess  Elizabeth,  should  be 
given  to  Carlos,  the  son  and  heir  of  Philip.  The 
parties  were  of  nearly  the  same  age,  being  each  about 
fourteen  years  old.  Now  that  all  prospect  of  the  Eng 
lish  match  had  vanished,  it  was  thought  to  be  a  greater 
compliment  to  the  French  to  substitute  the  father  for 
the  son,  the  monarch  himself  for  the  heir  apparent,  in 
the  marriage-treaty.  The  disparity  of  years  between 
Philip  and  Elizabeth  was  not  such  as  to  present  any 
serious  objection.  The  proposition  was  said  to  have 
come  from  the  French  negotiators.  The  Spanish 
envoys  replied  that,  notwithstanding  their  master's 
repugnance  to  entering  again  into  wedlock,  yet,  from 
his  regard  to  the  French  monarch,  and  his  desire  for 
the  public  weal,  he  would  consent  to  waive  his  scruples, 
and  accept  the  hand  of  the  French  princess,  with  the 
same  dowry  which  had  been  promised  to  his  son  Don 
Carlos.** 

45  "  II  nous  a  sembl£  mieulx  de  leur  dire  rondement,  que  comhien 
vostre  majeste  soil  tousjours  este  dure  et  difficile  a  recepvoir  persua 
sions  pour  se  remarier,  que  toutesfois,  aiant  represente  a  icelle  le  desir 
du  roi  tres-chrestien  et  le  bien  que  de  ce  mariage  pourra  succe"der,  et 
pour  plus  promptement  consolider  ceste  union  et  paix,  elle  s'estoit 


TREATY  OF  CATEAU-CAMBRESIS.  265 

Queen  Elizabeth  seems  to  have  been  not  a  little 
piqued  by  the  intelligence  that  Philip  had  so  soon 
consoled  himself  for  the  failure  of  his  suit  to  her. 
"  Your  master,"  said  she,  in  a  petulant  tone,  to  Feria, 
"  must  have  been  much  in  love  with  me,  not  to  be  able 
to  wait  four  months!"  The  ambassador  answered 
somewhat  bluntly,  by  throwing  the  blame  of  the  affair 
on  the  queen  herself.  "Not  so,"  she  retorted:  "I 
never  gave  your  king  a  decided  answer."  "True," 
said  Feria,  "the  refusal  was  only  implied,  for  I  would 
not  urge  your  highness  to  a  downright  'No,'  lest  it 
might  prove  a  cause  of  offence  between  so  great 
princes."  4<5 

In  June,  1559,  the  duke  of  Alva  entered  France  for 
the  purpose  of  claiming  the  royal  bride  and  espousing 
her  in  the  name  of  his  master.  He  was  accompanied 
by  Ruy  Gomez,  count  of  Melito, — better  known  by 
his  title  of  prince  of  Eboli, — by  the  prince  of  Orange, 
the  Count  Egmont,  and  other  noblemen,  whose  high 
rank  and  character  might  give  lustre  to  the  embassy. 
He  was  received  in  great  state  by  Henry,  who,  with  his 
whole  court,  seemed  anxious  to  show  to  the  envoy 
every  mark  of  respect  that  could  testify  their  satis 
faction  with  the  object  of  his  mission.  The  duke 
displayed  all  the  stately  demeanor  of  a  true  Spanish 
hidalgo.  Although  he  conformed  to  the  French  usage 
by  saluting  the  ladies  of  the  court,  he  declined  taking 

resolue,  pour  monstrer  sa  bonne  et  syncere  affection,  d'y  condescend™ 
franchement."    Granvelle,  Papiers  d'Etat,  torn.  v.  p.  580. 

*6  "  El  Conde  la  dijo,  que  aunque  las  negativas  habian  sido  en  cierto 
modo  indirectas,  el  no  habia  querido  apurarla  hasta  el  punto  de  decir 
redondamente  que  no,  por  no  dar  motive  a  indignaciones  entre  dos 
tan  grandes  Principes."     Mem.  de  la  Academia,  torn.  vii.  p.  268. 
Philip.— VOL.  I.— M  23 


266  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

this  liberty  with  his  future  queen,  or  covering  him 
self,  as  repeatedly  urged,  in  her  presence, — a  piece  of 
punctilio  greatly  admired  by  the  French,  as  altogether 
worthy  of  the  noble  Castilian  breeding.47 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  June,  the  marriage  of  the 
young  princess  was  celebrated  in  the  church  of  St. 
Mary.  King  Henry  gave  his  daughter  away.  The 
duke  of  Alva  acted  as  his  sovereign's  proxy.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  ceremony,  the  prince  of  Eboli  placed 
on  the  finger  of  the  princess,  as  a  memento  from  her 
lord,  a  diamond  ring  of  inestimable  value;  and  the 
beautiful  Elizabeth,  the  destined  bride  of  Don  Carlos, 
became  the  bride  of  the  king  his  father.  It  was  an 
ominous  union,  destined,  in  its  mysterious  conse 
quences,  to  supply  a  richer  theme  for  the  pages  of 
romance  than  for  those  of  history. 

The  wedding  was  followed  by  a  succession  of  brilliant 
entertainments,  the  chief  of  which  was  the  tournament, 
— the  most  splendid  pageant  of  that  spectacle-loving 
age.  Henry  was  at  that  time  busily  occupied  with  the 
work  of  exterminating  the  Protestant  heresy,  which, 
as  already  noticed,  had  begun  to  gather  formidable 
head  in  the  capital  of  his  dominions.48  On  the  even- 

47  "  Osservando  egli  1*  usanza  Francese  nel  baciar  tutte  1'  altre  Dame 
di  Corte,  nell*  arriuar  alia  futura  sua  Reina,  non  solo  intermise  quella 
famigliare  cerimonia,  ma  non  solle  ne  anche  giamai  coprirsi  la  testa, 
per  istanza,  che  da  lei  ne  gli  fusse  fatta;  il  che  fu  notato  per  nobilis- 
simo,  e  degno  atto  di  creaza  Spagnuola."  Campana,  Filippo  Secondo, 
parte  ii.  lib.  n. 

4s  The  work  of  extermination  was  to  cover  more  ground  than 
Henry's  capital  or  country,  if  we  may  take  the  word  of  the  English 
commissioners,  who,  in  a  letter  dated  January,  1559,  advise  the  queen, 
their  mistress,  that  "  there  was  an  appoinctement  made  betwene  the 
late  pope,  the  French  king,  and  the  king  of  Spaine,  for  the  joigning  of 


DEATH  OF  HENRY  THE   SECOND.          267 

ing  of  the  fifteenth  of  June  he  attended  a  session  of 
the  parliament,  and  arrested  some  of  its  principal 
members  for  the  boldness  of  their  speech  in  his  pres 
ence.  He  ordered  them  into  confinement,  deferring 
their  sentence  till  the  termination  of  the  engrossing 
business  of  the  tourney. 

The  king  delighted  in  these  martial  exercises,  in 
which  he  could  display  his  showy  person  and  match 
less  horsemanship  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
beauty  and  fashion  of  his  court.49  He  fully  maintained 
his  reputation  on  this  occasion,  carrying  off  one  prize 
after  another,  and  bearing  down  all  who  encountered 
his  lance.  Towards  evening,  when  the  games  had 
drawn  to  a  close,  he  observed  the  young  count  of 
Montgomery,  a  Scotch  noble,  the  captain  of  his  guard, 
leaning  on  his  lance  as  yet  unbroken.  The  king  chal 
lenged  the  cavalier  to  run  a  course  with  him  for  his 
lady's  sake.  In  vain  the  queen,  with  a  melancholy 
boding  of  some  disaster,  besought  her  lord  to  remain 
content  with  the  laurels  he  had  already  won.  Henry 

their  forces  together  for  the  suppression  of  religion,  .  .  .  th'  end 
whereof  was  to  constraine  the  rest  of  christiendome,  being  Protestants, 
to  receive  the  pope's  authorite  and  his  religion."  (Forbes,  State 
Papers,  vol.  i.  p.  296.)  Without  direct  evidence  of  such  a  secret 
understanding,  intimations  of  it,  derived  from  other  sources,  may  be 
found  in  more  than  one  passage  of  this  history. 

49  Brantome,  who  repays  the  favors  he  had  received  from  Henry  the 
Second  by  giving  him  a  conspicuous  place  in  his  gallery  of  portraits, 
eulogizes  his  graceful  bearing  in  the  tourney,  and  his  admirable  horse 
manship:  "  Mais  sur  tout  ils  1'admiroient  fort  en  sa  belle  grace  qu'il 
avoit  en  ses  armes  et  a  cheval ;  comme  de  vray,  c'estoit  le  prince  du 
monde  qui  avail  la  meilleure  grace  et  la  plus  belle  tenue,  et  qui  ^avoit 
aussi  bien  monstrer  la  vertu  et  bonte  d'un  cheval,  et  en  cacher  le  vice." 
CEuvres,  torn.  ii.  p.  353. 


268  WAR   WITH  FRANCE. 

obstinately  urged  his  fate,  and  compelled  the  count, 
though  extremely  loath,  to  take  the  saddle.  The  cham 
pions  met  with  a  furious  shock  in  the  middle  of  the 
lists.  Montgomery  was  a  rude  jouster.  He  directed 
his  lance  with  such  force  against  the  helmet  of  his 
antagonist  that  the  bars  of  the  visor  gave  way.  The 
lance  splintered  ;  a  fragment  struck  the  king  with  such 
violence  on  the  temple  as  to  lay  bare  the  eye.  The 
unhappy  monarch  reeled  in  his  saddle,  and  would  have 
fallen  but  for  the  assistance  of  the  constable,  the  duke 
of  Guise,  and  other  nobles,  who  bore  him  in  their 
arms  senseless  from  the  lists.  Henry's  wound  was 
mortal.  He  lingered  ten  days  in  great  agony,  and 
expired  on  the  ninth  of  July,  in  the  forty-second  year 
of  his  age,  and  the  thirteenth  of  his  reign.  It  was  an 
ill  augury  for  the  nuptials  of  Elizabeth.50 

The  tidings  of  the  king's  death  were  received  with 
demonstrations  of  sorrow  throughout  the  kingdom. 
He  had  none  of  those  solid  qualities  which  make 
either  a  great  or  a  good  prince.  But  he  had  the 
showy  qualities  which  are  perhaps  more  effectual  to 
secure  the  affections  of  a  people  as  fond  of  show  as 
the  nation  whom  Henry  governed.51  There  were 
others  in  the  kingdom,  however, — that  growing  sect 
of  the  Huguenots, — who  looked  on  the  monarch's 

5°  Brantome,  GEuvres,  torn.  ii.  p.  351.— De  Thou,  Histoire  uni- 
verselle,  torn.  iii.  p.  367.— Cabrera,  Filipe  -Segundo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  29.— 
Campana,  Filippo  Secondo,  parte  ii.  lib.  n.— Forbes,  State  Papers, 
vol.  i.  p.  151. 

51  The  English  commissioner,  Sir  Nicholas  Throckmorton,  bears 
testimony  to  the  popularity  of  Henry :  "  Their  was  marvailous  great 
lamentation  made  for  him,  and  weaping  of  all  sorts,  both  men  and 
women."  Forbes,  State  Papers,  vol.  i.  p.  151. 


DEATH  OF  HENRY  THE  SECOND.          269 

death  with  very  different  eyes, — who  rejoiced  in  it  as 
a  deliverance  from  persecution.  They  had  little  cause 
to  rejoice.  The  sceptre  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  line 
of  imbecile  princes,  or  rather  of  their  mother,  the 
famous  Catherine  de  Medicis,  who  reigned  in  their 
stead,  and  who  ultimately  proved  herself  the  most 
merciless  foe  the  Huguenots  ever  encountered. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

LATTER   DAYS    OF    CHARLES   THE    FIFTH. 

Charges  at  Yuste.— His  Mode  of  Life.— Interest  in  Public  Affairs.— 
Celebrates  his  Obsequies. — Last  Illness. — Death  and  Character. 

1556-1558. 

WHILE  the  occurrences  related  in  the  preceding 
chapter  were  passing,  an  event  took  place  which,  had 
it  happened  earlier,  would  have  had  an  important 
influence  on  the  politics  of  Europe,  and  the  news  of 
which,  when  it  did  happen,  was  everywhere  received 
with  the  greatest  interest.  This  event  was  the  death 
of  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  in  his  monastic 
retreat  at  Yuste.  In  the  earlier  pages  of  our  narrative 
we  have  seen  how  that  monarch,  after  his  abdication 
of  the  throne,  withdrew  to  the  Jeronymite  convent 
among  the  hills  of  Estremadura.  The  reader  may  now 
feel  some  interest  in  following  him  thither,  and  in  ob 
serving  in  what  manner  he  accommodated  himself  to 
the  change  and  passed  the  closing  days  of  his  eventful 
life.  The  picture  I  am  enabled  to  give  of  it  will  differ 
in  some  respects  from  those  of  former  historians,  who 
wrote  when  the  Archives  of  Simancas,  which  afforded 
'the  most  authentic  records  for  the  narrative,  were  inac 
cessible  to  the  scholar,  native  as  well  as  foreign.1 

1  This  pleasing  anticipation  is  not  destined  to  be  realized.     Since 
the  above  was  written,  in  the  summer  of  1851,  the  cloister-life  of 
(270) 


CHARLES  AT  YUSTE.  271 

Charles,  as  we  have  seen,  had  early  formed  the 
determination  to  relinquish  at  some  future  time  the 
cares  of  royalty,  and  devote  himself,  in  some  lonely 
retreat,  to  the  good  work  of  his  salvation.  His  con 
sort,  the  Empress  Isabella,  as  appears  from  his  own 
statement  at  Yuste,  had  avowed  the  same  pious  pur 
pose.2  She  died,  however,  too  early  to  execute  her 
plan  ;  and  Charles  was  too  much  occupied  with  his 
ambitious  enterprises  to  accomplish  his  object  until  the 
autumn  of  1555,  when,  broken  in  health  and  spirits, 
and  disgusted  with  the  world,  he  resigned  the  sceptre 
he  had  held  for  forty  years,  and  withdrew  to  a  life  of 
obscurity  and  repose. 

The  spot  he  had  selected  for  his  residence  was  situ 
ated  about  seven  leagues  from  the  city  of  Plasencia, 
on  the  slopes  of  the  mountain-chain  that  traverses  the 
province  of  Estremadura.  There,  nestling  among  the 
rugged  hills,  clothed  with  chick  woods  of  chestnut 
and  oak,  the  Jeronymite  convent  was  sheltered  from 
the  rude  breezes  of  the  north.  Towards  the  south, 
the  land  sloped  by  a  gradual  declivity  till  it  terminated 
in  a  broad  expanse,  the  Vera  of  Plasencia,  as  it  was 
called,  which,  fertilized  by  the  streams  of  the  sierra, 
contrasted  strongly  in  its  glowing  vegetation  with  the 
wild  character  of  the  mountain-scenery.  It  was  a  spot 
well  fitted  for  such  as  would  withdraw  themselves  from 
commerce  with  the  world  and  consecrate  their  days  to 

Charles  the  Fifth,  then  a  virgin  topic,  has  become  a  thrice-told  tale, 
— thanks  to  the  labors  of  Mr.  Stirling,  M.  Amedee  Pichot,  and  M. 
Mignet;  while  the  publication  of  the  original  documents  from  Si- 
mancas,  by  M.  Gachard,  will  put  it  in  the  power  of  every  scholar  to 
verify  their  statements.  See  the  postscript  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
8  Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  611. 


272      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHAKLES  THE  FIFTH. 

prayer  and  holy  meditation.  The  Jeronymite  frater 
nity  had  prospered  in  this  peaceful  abode.  Many  of 
the  monks  had  acquired  reputation  for  sanctity,  and 
some  of  them  for  learning,  the  fruits  of  which  might 
be  seen  in  a  large  collection  of  manuscripts  preserved 
in  the  library  of  the  monastery.  Benefactions  were 
heaped  on  the  brotherhood.  They  became  proprietors 
of  considerable  tracts  of  land  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  they  liberally  employed  their  means  in  dispensing 
alms  to  the  poor  who  sought  it  at  the  gate  of  the  con 
vent.  Not  long  before  Charles  took  up  his  residence 
among  them,  they  had  enlarged  their  building  by  an 
extensive  quadrangle,  which  displayed  some  architec 
tural  elegance  in  the  construction  of  its  cloisters. 

Three  years  before  the  emperor  repaired  thither,  he 
sent  a  skilful  architect  to  provide  such  accommodations 
as  he  had  designed  for  himself.  These  were  very  sim 
ple.  A  small  building,  containing  eight  rooms,  four 
on  each  floor,  was  raised  against  the  southern  wall  of 
the  monastery.  The  rooms  were  low,  and  of  a  mod 
erate  size.  They  were  protected  by  porticos,  which 
sheltered  them  on  two  sides  from  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
while  an  open  gallery,  which  passed  through  the  centre 
of  the  house,  afforded  means  for  its  perfect  ventilation.. 
But  Charles,  with  his  gouty  constitution,  was  more  afraid 
of  the  cold  damps  than  of  heat ;  and  he  took  care  to 
have  the  apartments  provided  with  fireplaces,  a  luxury 
little  known  in  this  temperate  region. 

A  window  opened  from  his  chamber  directly  into 
the  chapel  of  the  monastery ;  and  through  this,  when 
confined  to  his  bed  and  too  ill  to  attend  mass,  he  could 
see  the  elevation  of  the  host.  The  furniture  of  the 


CHARLES  AT   YUSTE. 


273 


dwelling — according  to  an  authority  usually  followed — 
was  of  the  simplest  kind  \  and  Charles,  we  are  told, 
took  no  better  care  of  his  gouty  limbs  than  to  provide 
himself  with  an  arm-chair,  or  rather  half  a  chair,  which 
would  not  have  brought  four  reals  at  auction.3  The 
inventory  of  the  furniture  of  Yuste  tells  a  very  different 
story.  Instead  of  "half  an  arm-chair,"  we  find,  be 
sides  other  chairs  lined  with  velvet,  two  arm-chairs 
especially  destined  to  the  emperor's  service.  One  of 
these  was  of  a  peculiar  construction,  and  was  accom 
modated  with  no  less  than  six  cushions  and  a  foot 
stool,  for  the  repose  of  his  gouty  limbs.  His  wardrobe 
showed  a  similar  attention  to  his  personal  comfort. 
For  one  item  we  find  no  less  than  sixteen  robes  of  silk 
and  velvet,  lined  with  ermine  or  eider-down  or  the 
soft  hair  of  the  Barbary  goat.  The  decorations  of  his 
apartment  were  on  not  merely  a  comfortable,  but  a 
luxurious  scale  :  canopies  of  velvet ;  carpets  from  Tur 
key  and  Alcaraz ;  suits  of  tapestry,  of  which  twenty- 

3  "  Una  sola  silla  de  caderas,  que  mas  era  media  silla,  tan  vieja  y 
ruyn  quo  si  se  pusiera  en  venta  no  dieran  por  ella  quatro  reales." 
Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  610. — See  also  El  perfecto 
Desengafio,  por  el  Marques  de  Valparayso,  MS.— The  latter  writer, 
in  speaking  of  the  furniture,  uses  precisely  the  same  language,  with 
the  exception  of  a  single  word,  as  Sandoval.  Both  claim  to  have 
mainly  derived  their  account  of  the  cloister-life  of  Charles  the  Fifth 
from  the  prior  of  Yuste,  Fray  Martin  de  Angulp.  The  authority, 
doubtless,  is  of  the  highest  value,  as  the  prior,  who  witnessed  the 
closing  scenes  of  Charles's  life,  drew  up  his  relation  for  the  informa 
tion  of  the  regent  Joanna,  and  at  her  request.  Why  the  good  father 
should  have  presented  his  hero  in  such  a  poverty-stricken  aspect  it  is 
not  easy  to  say.  Perhaps  he  thought  it  would  redound  to  the  credit 
of  the  emperor  that  he  should  have  been  willing  to  exchange  the 
splendors  of  a  throne  for  a  life  of  monkish  mortification. 
M* 


274     LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH. 

five  pieces  are  specified,  richly  wrought  with  figures 
of  flowers  and  animals.  Twelve  hangings,  of  the  finest 
black  cloth,  were  for  the  emperor's  bedchamber,  which, 
since  his  mother's  death,  had  been  always  dressed  in 
mourning.  Among  the  ornaments  of  his  rooms  were 
four  large  clocks  of  elaborate  workmanship.  He  had 
besides  a  number  of  pocket-watches,  then  a  greater 
rarity  than  at  present.  He  was  curious  in  regard  to 
his  timepieces,  and  took  care  to  provide  for  their  reg 
ularity  by  bringing  the  manufacturer  of  them  in  his 
train  to  Yuste.  Charles  was  served  on  silver.  Even 
the  meanest  utensils  for  his  kitchen  and  his  sleeping- 
apartment  were  of  the  same  costly  material,  amounting 
to  nearly  fourteen  thousand  ounces  in  weight.4 

The  inventory  contains  rather  a  meagre  show  of 
books,  which  were  for  the  most  part  of  a  devotional 
character.  But  Charles's  love  of  art  was  visible  in  a 
small  but  choice  collection  of  paintings  which  he 
brought  with  him  to  adorn  the  walls  of  his  retreat. 
Nine  of  these  were  from  the  pencil  of  Titian.  Charles 
held  the  works  of  the  great  Venetian  in  the  highest 
honor,  and  was  desirous  that  by  his  hand  his  likeness 
should  be  transmitted  to  posterity.  The  emperor  had 
brought  with  him  to  Yuste  four  portraits  of  himself  and 
the  empress  by  Titian  ;  and  among  the  other  pieces  by 
the  same  master  were  some  of  his  best  pictures.  One 
of  these  was  the  famous  "Gloria,"  in  which  Charles 
and  the  empress  appear,  in  the  midst  of  the  celestial 

*  The  reader  will  find  an  extract  from  the  inventory  of  the  royal 
jewels,  plate,  furniture,  etc.,  in  Stirling's  Cloister  Life  of  Charles  the 
Fifth  ( London,  1852),  Appendix,  and  in  Pichot's  Chronique  de  Charles- 
Quint  (Paris,  1854),  p.  537,  et  seq. 


CHARLES  AT   YUSTE.  275 

throng,  supported  by  angels,  and  in  an  attitude  of 
humble  adoration.5  He  had  the  painting  hung  at  the 
foot  of  his  bed,  or,  according  to  another  account,  over 
the  great  altar  in  the  chapel.  It  is  said,  he  would  gaze 
long  and  fondly  on  this  picture,  which  filled  him  with 
the  most  tender  recollections  ;  and,  as  he  dwelt  on 
the  image  of  one  who  had  been  so  dear  to  him  on 
earth,  he  may  have  looked  forward  to  his  reunion  with 
her  in  the  heavenly  mansions,  as  the  artist  had  here 
depicted  him.6 

A  stairway,  or  rather  an  inclined  plane,  suited  to 
the  weakness  of  Charles's  limbs,  led  from  the  gallery 
of  his  house  to  the  gardens  below.  These  were  sur 
rounded  by  a  high  wall,  which  completely  secluded 
him  from  observation  from  without.  The  garden  was 
filled  with  orange-,  citron-,  and  fig-trees,  and  various 
aromatic  plants  that  grew  luxuriantly  in  the  genial 
soil.  The  emperor  had  a  taste  for  horticulture,  and 

5  Mignet  has  devoted  a  couple  of  pages  to  an  account  of  this  re 
markable  picture,  of  which  an  engraving  is  still  extant,  executed  under 
the  eyes  of  Titian  himself.     Charles-Quint,  pp.  214,  215. 

6  Vera  y  Figueroa,  Vida  y  Hechos  de  Carlos  V.,  p.  127. — A  writer 
in  Fraser's  Magazine  for  April  and  May,  1851,  has  not  omitted  to 
notice  this  remarkable  picture,  in  two  elaborate  articles  on  the  cloister-' 
life  of  Charles  the  Fifth.     They  are  evidently  the  fruit  of  a  careful 
study  of  the  best  authorities,  some  of  them  not  easy  of  access  to  the 
English  student.     The  author  has  collected  some  curious  particulars 
in  respect  to  the  persons  who  accompanied  the  emperor  in  his  retire 
ment  ;  and  on  the  whole,  though  he  seems  not  to  have  been  aware 
of  the  active  interest  which  Charles  took  in  public  affairs,  he  has  pre 
sented  by  far  the  most  complete  view  of  this  interesting  portion  of  the 
imperial  biography  that  has  yet  been  given  to  the  world. 

[I  suffer  this  note  to  remain  as  originally  written,  before  the  pub 
lication  of  Mr.  Stirling's  "Cloister  Life"  had  revealed  him  as  the 
author  of  these  spirited  essays.] 


276     LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

took  much  pleasure  in  tending  the  young  plants  and 
pruning  his  trees.  His  garden  afforded  him  also  the 
best  means  for  taking  exercise ;  and  in  fine  weather  he 
would  walk  along  an  avenue  of  lofty  chestnut-trees, 
that  led  to  a  pretty  chapel  in  the  neighboring  woods, 
the  ruins  of  which  may  be  seen  at  this  day.  Among 
the  trees,  one  is  pointed  out, — an  overgrown  walnut, 
still  throwing  its  shade  far  and  wide  over  the  ground, 
— under  whose  branches  the  pensive  monarch  would 
sit  and  meditate  on  the  dim  future,  or  perhaps  on  the 
faded  glories  of  the  past. 

Charles  had  once  been  the  most  accomplished  horse 
man  of  his  time.  He  had  brought  with  him  to  Yuste 
a  pony  and  a  mule,  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  get 
some  exercise  in  the  saddle.  But  the  limbs  that  had 
bestrode  day  after  day,  without  fatigue,  the  heavy  war- 
horse  of  Flanders  and  the  wildest  genet  of  Andalusia, 
were  unable  now  to  endure  the  motion  of  a  poor  palfrey ; 
and,  after  a  solitary  experiment  in  the  saddle  on  his 
arrival  at  Yuste,  when  he  nearly  fainted,  he  abandoned 
it  forever.7 

There  are  few  spots  that  might  now  be  visited  with 
more  interest  than  that  which  the  great  emperor  had 
selected  as  his  retreat  from  the  thorny  cares  of  govern 
ment.  And  until  within  a  few  years  the  traveller  would 
have  received  from  the  inmates  of  the  convent  the  same 
hospitable  welcome  which  they  had  always  been  ready 

7  Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  610. — Siguet^a,  Historia 
de  la  Orden  de  San  Geronimo  (Madrid,  1595-1605),  parte  iii.  p.  190. 
— Ford,  Handbook  of  Spain  (London,  1845),  p.  551. — Of  the  above 
authorities,  Father  Siguenca  has  furnished  the  best  account  of  the 
emperor's  little  domain  as  it  was  in  his  day,  and  Ford  as  it  is  in  oui 
own. 


CHARLES  AT   YUSTE.  277 

to  give  to  the  stranger.  But  in  1809  the  place  was 
sacked  by  the  French ;  and  the  fierce  soldiery  of  Soult 
converted  the  pile,  with  its  venerable  cloisters,  into 
a  heap  of  blackened  ruins.  Even  the  collection  of 
manuscripts,  piled  up  with  so  much  industry  by  the 
brethren,  did  not  escape  the  general  doom.  The 
palace  of  the  emperor,  as  the  simple  monks  loved  to 
call  his  dwelling,  had  hardly  a  better  fate,  though  it 
came  from  the  hands  of  Charles's  own  countrymen, 
the  liberals  of  Cuacos.  By  these  patriots  the  lower 
floor  of  the  mansion  was  turned  into  stables  for  their 
horses.  The  rooms  above  were  used  as  magazines  for 
grain.  The  mulberry-leaves  were  gathered  from  the 
garden  to  furnish  material  for  the  silk-worm,  who  was 
permitted  to  wind  his  cocoon  in  the  deserted  chambers 
of  royalty.  Still,  the  great  features  of  nature  remain 
the  same  as  in  Charles's  day.  The  bald  peaks  of  the 
sierra  still  rise  above  the  ruins  of  the  monastery.  The 
shaggy  sides  of  the  hills  still  wear  their  wild  forest 
drapery.  Far  below,  the  eye  of  the  traveller  ranges 
over  the  beautiful  Vera  of  Plasencia,  which  glows  in 
the  same  exuberant  vegetation  as  of  yore ;  and  the 
traveller,  as  he  wanders  among  the  ruined  porticos  and 
desolate  arcades  of  the  palace,  drinks  in  the  odors  of 
a  thousand  aromatic  plants  and  wild  flowers  that  have 
shot  up  into  a  tangled  wilderness,  where  once  was  the 
garden  of  the  imperial  recluse.8 

8  See  the  eloquent  conclusion  of  Stirling's  Cloister  Life  of  Charles 
the  Fifth. — Ford,  in  his  admirable  Handbook,  which  may  serve  as  a 
manual  for  the  student  of  Spanish  in  his  closet,  quite  as  well  as  for 
the  traveller  in  Spain,  has  devoted  a  few  columns  to  a  visit  which 
he  paid  to  this  sequestered  spot,  where,  as  he  says,  the  spirit  of  the 
mighty  dead  seemed  to  rule  again  in  his  last  home.  A  few  lines  from 
Philip. — VOL.  I.  24 


278      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

Charles,  though  borne  across  the  mountains  in  a 
litter,  had  suffered  greatly  in  his  long  and  laborious 
journey  from  Valladolid.  He  passed  some  time  in 
the  neighboring  village  of  Xarandilla,  and  thence, 
after  taking  leave  of  the  greater  part  of  his  weeping 
retinue,  he  proceeded  with  the  remainder  to  the  mon 
astery  of  Yuste.  It  was  on  the  third  of  February, 
1557,  that  he  entered  the  abode  which  was  to  prove 
his  final  resting-place.9  The  monks  of  Yuste  had  been 
much  flattered  by  the  circumstance  of  Charles  having 
shown  such  a  preference  for  their  convent.  As  he 
entered  the  chapel,  Te  Deum  was  chanted  by  the 
whole  brotherhood  ;  and  when  the  emperor  had  pros 
trated  himself  before  the  altar,  the  monks  gathered 
round  him,  anxious  to  pay  him  their  respectful  obeis 
ance.  Charles  received  them  graciously,  and,  after 
examining  his  quarters,  professed  himself  well  pleased 
with  the  accommodations  prepared  for  him.  His  was 
not  a  fickle  temper.  Slow  in  forming  his  plans,  he 
was  slower  in  changing  them.  To  the  last  day  of  his 
residence  at  Yuste, — whatever  may  have  been  said  to 
the  contrary, — he  seems  to  have  been  well  satisfied 

the  pages  of  the  English  tourist  will  bring  the  scene  more  vividly 
before  the  reader  than  the  colder  description  in  the  text :  "  As  the  win 
dows  were  thrown  wide  open  to  admit  the  cool  thyme-scented  breeze, 
the  eye  in  the  clear  evening  swept  over  the  boundless  valley,  and 
the  nightingales  sang  sweetly,  in  the  neglected  orange-garden,  to  the 
bright  stars  reflected  like  diamonds  in  the  black  tank  below  us.  How 
often  had  Charles  looked  out,  on  a  stilly  eve,  on  this  self-same  and 
unchanged  scene,  where  he  alone  was  now  wanting!"  Handbook  of 
Spain,  p»553. 

9  Carta  de  Martin  de  Gaztelu  al  Secretario  Vazquez,  5  de  Febrero, 
1557,  MS. 


HIS  MODE    OF  LIFE.  279 

with  the  step  he  had  taken  and  with  the  spot  he  had 
selected. 

From  the  first,  he  prepared  to  conform,  as  far  as  his 
health  would  permit,  to  the  religious  observances  of 
the  monastery.  Not  that  he  proposed  to  limit  himself 
to  the  narrow  circumstances  of  an  ordinary  friar.  The 
number  of  his  retinue  that  still  remained  with  him  was 
at  least  fifty,  mostly  Flemings;10  a  number  not  greater, 
certainly,  than  that  maintained  by  many  a  private  gen 
tleman  of  the  country.  But  among  these  we  recognize 
those  officers  of  state  who  belong  more  properly  to  a 
princely  establishment  than  to  the  cell  of  the  recluse. 
There  was  the  major-domo,  the  almoner,  the  keeper 
of  the  wardrobe,  the  keeper  of  the  jewels,  the  cham 
berlains,  two  watchmakers,  several  secretaries,  the 
physician,  the  confessor,  besides  cooks,  confectioners, 
bakers,  brewers,  game-keepers,  and  numerous  valets. 
Some  of  these  followers  seem  not  to  have  been  quite 
so  content  as  their  master  with  their  secluded  way 
of  life,  and  to  have  cast  many  a  longing  look  to  the 
pomps  and  vanities  of  the  world  they  had  left  behind 
them.  At  least  such  were  the  feelings  of  Quixada,  the 
emperor's  major-domo,  in  whom  he  placed  the  greatest 
confidence,  and  who  had  the  charge  of  his  household. 
"  His  majesty's  bedroom,"  writes  the  querulous  func- 

10  Their  names  and  vocations  are  specified  in  the  codicil  executed 
by  Charles  a  few  days  before  his  death.  See  the  document  entire, 
ap.  Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  662. — A  more  satisfactory 
list  has  been  made  out  by  the  indefatigable  Gachard  from  various 
documents  which  he  collected,  and  which  have  furnished  him  with  the 
means  of  correcting  the  orthography  of  Sandoval,  miserably  deficient 
in  respect  to  Flemish  names.  See  Retraite  et  Mort  de  Charles-Quint, 
torn.  i.  p.  1. 


2 So     LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

tionary,  "is  good  enough;  but  the  view  from  it  is 
poor, — barren  mountains,  covered  with  rocks  and 
stunted  oaks;  a  garden  of  moderate  size,  with  a  few 
straggling  orange-trees ;  the  roads  scarcely  passable,  so 
steep  and  stony;  the  only  water,  a  torrent  rushing 
from  the  mountains;  a  dreary  solitude!"  The  low, 
cheerless  rooms,  he  predicts,  must  necessarily  be  d:.mp, 
boding  no  good  to  the  emperor's  infirmity."  "As 
to  the  friars,"  observes  the  secretary,  Gaztelu,  in  the 
same  amiable  mood,  "please  God  that  his  majesty 
may  be  able  to  tolerate  them, — which  will  be  no  easy 
rnatter ;  for  they  are  an  importunate  race."12  It  is 
evident  that  Charles's  followers  would  have  been  very 
willing  to  exchange  the  mortifications  of  the  monastic 
life  for  the  good  cheer  and  gayety  of  Brussels. 

The  worthy  prior  of  the  convent,  in  addressing 
Charles,  greeted  him  with  the  title  of  paternidad,  till 
one  of  the  fraternity  suggested  to  him  the  propriety 

11  "  Las  vistas  de  las  pie9as  de  su  magestad  no  son  muy  largas, 
sino  cortas,  y  las  que  se  veen,  6  es  una  montana  de  piedras  grandes,  6 
unos  monies  de  robles  no  muy  altos.    Campo  llano  no  le  ay,  ni  como 
podesse  pasear,  que  sea  por  un  camino  estrecho  y  lleno  de  piedra. 
Rio  yo  no  vi  ninguno,  sino  un  golpe  de  agua  que  baza  de  la  montana: 
huerta  en  casa  ay  una  pequena  y  de  pocos  naranjos.  ...  El  aposento 
baxo  no  es  nada  alegre,  sino  muy  triste,  y  como  es  tan  baxo,  creo 
serd  humido.  .  .  .  Esto  es  lo  que  me  parece  del  aposento  y  sitio  de  la 
casa  y  grandissima  soledad."     Carta  de  Luis  Quixada  d  Juan  Vaz 
quez,  30  de  Noviembre,  1556,  MS. — The  major-domo  concludes  by 
requesting  Vazquez  not  to  show  it  to  his  mistress,  Joanna,  the  regent, 
as  he  would  not  be  thought  to  run  counter  to  the  wishes  of  the  em 
peror  in  any  thing. 

12  "  Plegue  a  Dios  que  los  pueda  sufrir,  que  no  serd  poco,  segun 
suelen  ser  todos  muy  importunos,  y  mas  los  que  saben  menos."    Carta 
de  Martin  de  Gaztelu,  MS. 


HIS  MODE    OF  LIFE.  28l 

of  substituting  that  of  magestad.^  Indeed,  to  this 
title  Charles  had  good  right,  for  he  was  still  emperor. 
His  resignation  of  the  imperial  crown,  which,  after  8 
short  delay,  had  followed  that  of  the  Spanish,  had  not 
taken  effect,  in.  consequence  of  the  diet  not  being  in 
session  at  the  time  when  his  envoy,  the  prince  of 
Orange,  was  to  have  presented  himself  at  Ratisbon, 
in  the  spring  of  1557.  The  war  with  France  made 
Philip  desirous  that  his  father  should  remain  lord  of 
Germany  for  some  time  longer.  It  was  not,  therefore, 
until  more  than  a  year  after  Charles's  arrival  at  Yuste 
that  the  resignation  was  accepted  by  the  diet,  at  Frank 
fort,  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  February,  1558.  Charles 
was  still  emperor,  and  continued  to  receive  the  impe 
rial  title  in  all  his  correspondence.14 

We  have  pretty  full  accounts  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  monarch  employed  his  time.  He  attended  mass 
every  morning  in  the  chapel,  when  his  health  per 
mitted.  Mass  was  followed  by  dinner,  which  he  took 
early  and  alone,  preferring  this  to  occupying  a  seat  in 
the  refectory  of  the  convent.  He  was  fond  of  carving 
for  himself,  though  his  gouty  fingers  were  not  always 
in  the  best  condition  for  this  exercise.15  His  phy 
sician  was  usually  in  attendance  during  the  repast, 
and  might,  at  least,  observe  how  little  his  patient,  who 

*3  "  Llamando  al  Emperador  paternidad,  de  que  luego  fue  ad- 
vertido  de  otro  frayle  que  estava  a  su  lado,  y  acudio  con  magestad" 
Carta  de  Martin  de  Gaztelu,  MS. 

'4  "  Emperador  semper  augusto  de  Alemania." 

*5  His  teeth  seem  to  have  been  in  hardly  better  condition  than  his 
fingers:  "  Era  amigo  de  cortarse  el  mismo  lo  que  comia,  aunque  ni 
tenia  buenas  ni  desembueltas  las  manos,  ni  los  dientes."     Siguen9a, 
Orden  de  San  Geronimo,  parte  iii.  p.  192. 
24* 


282      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIF7'II. 

had  not  the  virtue  of  abstinence,  regarded  his  pre 
scriptions.  The  Fleming,  Van  Male,  the  emperor's 
favorite  gentleman  of  the  chamber,  was  also  not  un- 
frequently  present.  He  was  a  good  scholar;  and  his 
discussions  with  the  doctor  served  to  beguile  the 
tediousness  of  their  master's  solitary  meal.  The  con 
versation  frequently  turned  on  some  subject  of  natural 
history,  of  which  the  emperor  was  fond;  and  when 
the  parties  could  not  agree,  the  confessor,  a  man  of 
learning,  was  called  in  to  settle  the  dispute. 

After  dinner, — an  important  meal,  which  occupied 
much  time  with  Charles, — he  listened  to  some  passages 
from  a  favorite  theologian.  In  his  worldly  days,  the 
reading  he  most  affected  was  Comines's  account  of 
King  Louis  the  Eleventh,16 — a  prince  whose  maxim, 
"  Qui  nescit  dissimulare,  nescit  regnare"  was  too  well 
suited  to  the  genius  of  the  emperor.  He  now,  how 
ever,  sought  a  safer  guide  for  his  spiritual  direction, 
and  would  listen  to  a  homily  from  the  pages  of  St. 
Bernard,  or  more  frequently  St.  Augustine,  in  whom 
he  most  delighted.17  Towards  evening,  he  heard  a 
sermon  from  one  of  his  preachers.  Three  or  four  of 
the  most  eloquent  of  the  Jeronymite  order  had  been 
brought  to  Yuste  for  his  especial  benefit.  When  he 
was  not  in  condition  to  be  present  at  the  discourse,  he 
expected  to  hear  a  full  report  of  it  from  the  lips  of  his 
confessor,  Father  Juan  de  Regla.  Charles  was  punc 
tual  in  his  attention  to  all  the  great  fasts  and  festivals 
of  the  Church.  His  infirmities,  indeed,  excused  him 

16  De  Thou,  Hist,  universelle,  torn.  iii.  p.  293. 

J7  "  Quando  comia,  leya  el  confesor  una  leccion  de  San  Augustin." 
El  perfecto  Desengano,  MS. 


HIS  MODE    OF  LIFE.  283 

from  fasting,  but  he  made  up  for  it  by  the  severity  of 
his  flagellation.  In  Lent,  in  particular,  he  dealt  with 
himself  so  sternly  that  th^  scourge  was  found  stained 
with  his  blood ;  and  this  precious  memorial  of  his 
piety  was  ever  cherished,  we  are  told,  by  Philip,  and 
by  him  bequeathed  as  an  heirloom  to  his  son.18 

Increasing  vigilance  in  his  own  spiritual  concerns 
made  him  more  vigilant  as  to  those  of  others, — as  the 
weaker  brethren  sometimes  found  to  their  cost.  Ob 
serving  that  some  of  the  younger  friars  spent  more  time 
than  was  seemly  in  conversing  with  the  women  who 
came  on  business  to  the  door  of  the  convent,  Charles 
procured  an  order  to  be  passed  that  any  woman  who 
ventured  to  approach  within  two  bowshots  of  the  gate 
should  receive  a  hundred  stripes.19  On  another  occa 
sion,  his  officious  endeavor  to  quicken  the  diligence  of 

18  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  15. — Vera  y  Figueroa,  Vida 
y  Hechos  de  Carlos  V.,  p.  123. — Siguer^a,  Orden  de  San  Geronimo, 
parte  iii.  p.  195. — The  last  writer  is  minute  in  his  notice  of  the  impe 
rial  habits  and  occupations  at  Yuste.  Siguen9a  was  prior  of  the  Es- 
corial ;  and  in  that  palace-monastery  of  the  Jeronymites  he  must  have 
had  the  means  of  continually  conversing  with  several  of  his  brethren 
who  had  been  with  Charles  in  his  retirement.  His  work,  which  ap 
peared  at  the  beginning  of  the  following  century,  has  become  rare, — 
so  rare  that  M.  Gachard  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  a  few 
manuscript  extracts,  from  the  difficulty  of  procuring  the  printed 
original.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  a  copy,  and  a  very  fine 
one,  through  my  booksellers,  Messrs.  Rich,  Brothers,  London, — 
worthy  sons  of  a  sire  who  for  thirty  years  or  more  stood  pre-eminent 
for  sagacity  and  diligence  among  the  collectors  of  rare  and  valuable 
books. 

J9  "  Mandd  pregonar  en  los  lugares  comarcanos  que  so  pena  de 
cien  acotes  muger  alguna  no  passasse  de  un  humilladero  que  estasa 
como  dos  tiros  de  ballesta  del  Monasterio."  Sandoval,  Hist,  de 
Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  612;  and  Sandoval's  double,  Valparayso,  El 
perfecto  Desengano,  MS. 


284     LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH. 

one  of  the  younger  members  of  the  fraternity  is  said  to 
have  provoked  the  latter  testily  to  exclaim,  "  Cannot 
you  be  contented  with  having  so  long  turned  the  world 
upside  down,  without  coming  here  to  disturb  the  quiet 
of  a  poor  convent?" 

He  derived  an  additional  pleasure,  in  his  spiritual 
exercises,  from  his  fondness  for  music,  which  enters  so 
largely  into  those  of  the  Romish  Church.  He  sang 
well  himself,  and  his  clear,  sonorous  voice  might  often 
be  heard  through  the  open  casement  of  his  bedroom, 
accompanying  the  chant  of  the  monks  in  the  chapel. 
The  choir  was  made  up  altogether  of  brethren  of  the 
order,  and  Charles  would  allow  no  intrusion  from  any 
other  quarter.  His  ear  was  quick  to  distinguish  any 
strange  voice,  as  well  as  any  false  note  in  the  per 
formance, — on  which  last  occasion  he  would  sometimes 
pause  in  his  devotions,  and,  in  half-suppressed  tones, 
give  vent  to  his  wrath  by  one  of  those  scurrilous  epi 
thets  which,  however  they  may  have  fallen  in  with  the 
habits  of  the  old  campaigner,  were  but  indifferently 
suited  to  his  present  way  of  life.20 

Such  time  as  was  not  given  to  his  religious  exercises 
was  divided  among  various  occupations,  for  which  he 
had  always  had  a  relish,  though  hitherto  but  little 
leisure  to  pursue  them.  Besides  his  employments  in 
his  garden,  he  had  a  decided  turn  for  mechanical 

80  "  Si  alguno  se  errava  dezia  consigo  mismo:  O  hideputa  bermcjo, 
que  aquel  erro,  d  otro  nombre  semejante."  Sandoval,  Hist,  cle 
Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  613. — I  will  not  offend  ears  polite  by  rendering 
it  in  English  into  corresponding  Billingsgate.  It  is  but  fair  to  state 
that  the  author  of  the  Perfecto  Desengaflo  puts  no  such  irreverent  ex 
pression  into  Charles's  mouth.  Both,  however,  profess  to  follow  the 
MS.  of  the  Prior  Angulo. 


HIS  MODE    OF  LIFE.  285 

pursuits.  Some  years  before,  while  in  Germany,  he 
had  invented  an  ingenious  kind  of  carriage  for  his 
own  accommodation.21  He  brought  with  him  to  Yuste 
an  engineer  named  Torriano,  famous  for  the  great 
hydraulic  works  he  constructed  in  Toledo.  With  the 
assistance  of  this  man,  a  most  skilful  mechanician, 
Charles  amused  himself  by  making  a  variety  of  puppets 
representing  soldiers,  who  went  through  military  exer 
cises.  The  historian  draws  largely  on  our. faith,  by 
telling  us  also  of  little  wooden  birds  which  the  inge 
nious  pair  contrived,  so  as  to  fly  in  and*  out  of  the 
window  before  the  admiring  monks!22  But  nothing 
excited  their  astonishment  so  much  as  a  little  hand- 
mill,  used  for  grinding  wheat,  which  turned  out  meal 
enough  in  a  single  day  to  support  a  man  for  a  week  or 
more.  The  good  fathers  thought  this  savored  of  down 
right  necromancy;  and  it  may  have  furnished  an  argu 
ment  against  the  unfortunate  engineer  in  the  persecution 
which  he  afterwards  underwent  from  the  Inquisition. 

Charles  took,  moreover,  great  interest  in  the  mechan 
ism  of  timepieces.  He  had  a  good  number  of  clocks 
and  watches  ticking  together  in  his  apartments ;  and  a 
story  has  obtained  credit  that  the  difficulty  he  found  in 
making  any  two  of  them  keep  the  same  time  drew  from 
him  an  exclamation  on  the  folly  of  attempting  to  bring 

21  "  Non  aspernatur  exercitationes  campestres,  in  quem  usum  para- 
tam  habet  tormentariam  rhedam,  ad  essedi  speciem,  praecellenti  arte, 
et  miro  studio  proximis  hisce  mensibus  a  se  constructam."     Lettres 
sur  la  Vie  interieure  de  1'Empereur  Charles-Quint,  ecrites  par  Guil- 
laume  van  Male,  gentilhomme  de  sa  chambre,  et  publiees,  pour  la 
premiere  fois,  par  le  Baron  de  Reiffenberg  (Bruxelles,  1843,  4to),  ep.  8. 

22  "  Interdum    ligneos   passerculos  emisit  cubiculo  volantes   revo- 
lantesque."     Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  15. 


286      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH. 

a  number  of  men  to  think  alike  in  matters  of  religion, 
when  he  could  not  regulate  any  two  of  his  timepieces 
so  as  to  make  them  agree  with  each  other, — a  philo 
sophical  reflection  for  which  one  will  hardly  give  credit 
to  the  man  who  with  his  dying  words  could  press  on 
his  son  the  maintenance  of  the  Inquisition  as  the  great 
bulwark  of  the  Catholic  faith.  In  the  gardens  of 
Ytiste  there  is  still,  or  was  lately,  to  be  seen  a  sun-dial 
constructed  by  Torriano  to  enable  his  master  to  measure 
more  accurately  the  lapse  of  time  as  it  glided  away  in 
the  monotonous  routine  of  the  monastery.23 

Though  averse  to  visits  of  curiosity  or  idle  cere 
mony,24  Charles  consented  to  admit  some  of  the  nobles 
whose  estates  lay  in  the  surrounding  country,  and  who, 
with  feelings  of  loyal  attachment  to  their  ancient 
master,  were  anxious  to  pay  their  respects  to  him  in 
his  retirement.  But  none  who  found  their  way  into 
his  retreat  appear  to  have  given  him  so  much  satisfac 
tion  as  Francisco  Borja,  duke  of  Gandia,  in  later  times 
placed  on  the  roll  of  her  saints  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  Like  Charles,  he  had  occupied  a  brilliant 
eminence  in  the  world,  and  like  him  had  found  the 
glory  of  this  world  but  vanity.  In  the  prime  of  life 
he  withdrew  from  the  busy  scenes  in  which  he  had 
acted,  and  entered  a  college  of  Jesuits.  By  the  em 
peror's  invitation,  Borja  made  more  than  one  visit 
to  Yuste;  and  Charles  found  much  consolation  in  his 
society  and  in  conversing  with  his  early  friend  on 

*3  Ford,  Handbook  of  Spain,  p.  552. 

24  "A  nemine,  ne  a  proceribus  quidem  quacumque  ex  causa  se 
adiri,  aut  conveniri,  nisi  segre  admodum  patiebatur."  Sepulvedae 
Opera,  torn.  ii.  p.  541. 


HIS  MODE    OF  LIFE.  287 

topics  of  engrossing  interest  to  both.  The  result  of 
their  conferences  was  to  confirm  them  both  in  the  con 
viction  that  they  had  done  wisely  in  abjuring  the  world 
and  in  dedicating  themselves  to  the  service  of  Heaven. 

The  emperor  was  also  visited  by  his  two  sisters,  the 
dowager  queens  of  France  and  Hungary,  who  had 
accompanied  their  brother,  as  we  have  seen,  on  his 
return  to  Spain.  But  the  travelling  was  too  rough, 
and  the  accommodations  at  Yuste  too  indifferent,  to 
encourage  the  royal  matrons  to  prolong  their  stay, 
or,  with  one  exception  on  the  part  of  the  queen  of 
Hungary,  to  repeat  their  visit. 

But  an  object  of  livelier  interest  to  the  emperor  than 
either  of  his  sisters  was  a  boy,  scarcely  twelve  years 
of  age,  who  resided  in  the  family  of  his  major-domo, 
Quixada,  in  the  neighboring  village  of  Cuacos.  This 
was  Don  John  of  Austria,  as  he  was  afterwards  called, 
the  future  hero  of  Lepanto.  He  was  the  natural  son 
of  Charles,  a  fact  known  to  no  one  during  the  father's 
lifetime,  except  Quixada,  who  introduced  the  boy  into 
the  convent  as  his  own  page.  The  lad,  at  this  early 
age,  showed  many  gleams  of  that  generous  spirit  by 
which  he  was  afterwards  distinguished, — thus  solacing 
the  declining  years  of  his  parent,  and  affording  a  hold 
for  those  affections  which  might  have  withered  in  the 
cold  atmosphere  of  the  cloister. 

Strangers  were  sure  to  be  well  received  who,  coming 
from  the  theatre  of  war,  could  furnish  the  information 
he  so  much  desired  respecting  the  condition  of  things 
abroad.  Thus,  we  find  him  in  conference  with  an  officer 
arrived  from  the  Low  Countries,  named  Spinosa,  and 
putting  a  multitude  of  questions  respecting  the  state 


288      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH. 

of  the  army,  the  organization  and  equipment  of  the 
different  corps,  and  other  particulars,  showing  the 
lively  interest  taken  by  Charles  in  the  conduct  of  the 
campaign.85 

It  has  been  a  common  opinion  that  the  emperor, 
after  his  retirement  to  Yuste,  remained  as  one  buried 
alive,  totally  cut  off  from  intercourse  with  the  world, 
— "as  completely  withdrawn  from  the  business  of  the 
kingdom  and  the  concerns  of  government,"  says  one 
of  his  biographers,  "as  if  he  had  never  taken  part  in 
them  ;"26  "so  entirely  abstracted  in  his  solitude,"  says 
another  contemporary,  "  that  neither  revolutions  nor 
wars,  nor  gold  arriving  in  heaps  from  the  Indies,  had 
any  power  to  affect  his  tranquillity."27 

So  far  was  this  from  being  the  case  that  not  only 
did  the  emperor  continue  to  show  an  interest  in  public 
affairs,  but  he  took  a  prominent  part,  even  from  the 
depths  of  his  retreat,  in  the  management  of  them.28 

25  "  Le  hizo  mas  preguntas  que  se  pudieran  hazer  &  la  donzella 
Theodor,  de  que  .todb  di6  buena  razon  y  de  lo  que  vio  y  oyo  en 
Francia,  provisiones  de  obispados,  cargos  de  Italia,  y  de  la  infanteria 
y  caballeria,  artilleria,  gastadores,  armas  de  mano  y  de  otras  cosas." 
Carta  de  Martin  de  Gaztelu  &  Juan  Vazquez,  18  de  Mayo,  1558.  MS. 

26  "  Retirose  tanto  de  los  negocios  del  Reyno  y  cosas  de  govierno, 
como  si  jamas  uviera  tenido  parte  en    ellos."     Sandoval,  Hist,  de 
Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  614. — See  also  Valparayso  (El  perfecto   Des- 
engano,  MS.),  who  uses  the  same  words,  probably  copying  Angulo, 
unless,  indeed,  we  suppose  him  to  have  stolen  from  Sandoval. 

=7  "  Ut  neque  aurum,  quod  ingenti  copia  per  id  tempus  Hispana 
classis  illi  advexit  ab  India,  neque  strepirus  bellorum,  .  .  .  quidquam 
potuerint  animum  ilium  flectere,  tot  retro  annis  assuetum  armorum 
sono."  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  14. 

28  It  is  singular  that  Sepuiveda,  who  visited  Charles  in  his  retreat, 
should  have  been  the  only  historian,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  who  recog 
nized  the  truth  of  this  iact,  so  perfectly  established  by  the  letters  from 


HIS  INTEREST  IN  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS.       289 

Philip,  who  had  the  good  sense  to  defer  to  the  long  ex 
perience  and  the  wisdom  of  his  father,  consulted  him 
constantly  on  great  questions  of  public  policy.  And 
so  far  was  he  from  the  feeling  of  jealousy  often  imputed 
to  him  that  we  find  him  on  one  occasion,  when  the 
horizon  looked  particularly  dark,  imploring  the  emperor 
to  leave  his  retreat,  and  to  aid  him  not  only  by  his 
counsels,  but  by  his  presence  and  authority.29  The 
emperor's  daughter  Joanna,  regent  of  Castile,  from  her 
residence  at  Valladolid,  only  fifty  leagues  from  Yuste, 
maintained  a  constant  correspondence  with  her  father, 
soliciting  his  advice  in  the  conduct  of  the  government. 
However  much  Charles  may  have  felt  himself  relieved 
from  responsibility  for  measures,  he  seems  to  have  been 
as  anxious  for  the  success  of  Philip's  administration  as 
if  it  had  been  his  own.  "  Write  more  fully,"  says  one 
of  his  secretaries  in  a  letter  to  the  secretary  of  the  re 
gent's  council :  "  the  emperor  is  always  eager  to  hear 
more  particulars  of  events."30  He  showed  the  deepest 
concern  in  the  conduct  of  the  Italian  war.  He  be 
trayed  none  of  the  scruples  manifested  by  Philip,  but 
boldly  declared  that  the  war  with  the  pope  was  a  just 

Yuste:  "  Summis  enim  rebus,  ut  de  bello  et  pace  se  consul!,  deque 
fratris,  liberorum  et  sororum  salute,  et  statu  rerum  cerjiorem  fieri  non 
recusabat."  Opera,  torn.  ii.  p.  541. 

29  "  Supplicando  con  toda  humildad  e  instancia  £  su  Magestad 
tenga  por  bien  de  esforzarse  en  esta  coyuntura,  socorriendome  y 
ayudandome,  no  solo  con  su  parecer  y  consejo  que  es  el  mayor  cau 
dal  que  puedo  tener,  pero  con  la  presencia  de  su  persona  y  autoridad, 
saliendo  del  monasterio,  a  la  parte  y  lugar  que  mas  comodo  sea  d  su 
salud."  Retire,  Estancia,  etc.,  ap.  Mignet,  Charles- Quint,  p.  256, 
note. 

3<>  "Siempre,  en  estas  cosas,  pregunta  si  no  hay  mas."      Carta  de 
Martin  de  Gaztelu  d  Juan  Vazquez,  8  de  Noviembre,  1556,  MS. 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — N  25 


290 


LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 


war  in  the  sight  of  both  God  and  man.  When  letters 
came  from  abroad,  he  was  even  heard  to  express  his 
regret  that  they  brought  no  tidings  of  Paul's  death,  or 
Caraffa's  ! 3I  He  was  sorely  displeased  with  the  truce 
which  Alva  granted  to  the  pontiff,  intimating  a  regret 
that  he  had  not  the  reins  still  in  his  own  hand.  He 
was  yet  more  discontented  with  the  peace,  and  the 
terms  of  it,  both  public  and  private ;  and  when  Alva 
talked  of  leaving  Naples,  his  anger,  as  his  secretary 
quaintly  remarks,  was  "  more  than  was  good  for  his 
health.  "3" 

The  same  interest  he  showed  in  the  French  war. 
The  loss  of  Calais  filled  him  with  the  deepest  anxiety. 
But  in  his  letters  on  the  occasion,  instead  of  wasting 
his  time  in  idle  lament,  he  seems  intent  only  on  de 
vising  in  what  way  he  can  best  serve  Philip  in  his  dis 
tress.33  In  the  same  proportion  he  was  elated  by  the 
tidings  of  the  victory  of  St.  Quentin.  His  thoughts 
turned  upon  Paris,  and  he  was  eager  to  learn  what  road 
his  son  had  taken  after  the  battle.  According  to 
Brantome,  on  hearing  the  news,  he  abruptly  asked, 
"Is  Philip  at  Paris?"  He  judged  of  Philip's  temper 
by  his  own.34 

3'  "  Del  Papa  y  de  Caraffa  se  siente  aqui  que  no  haya  llegado  la 
nueva  de  que  se  ban  muerto."  Carta  de  Martin  de  Gaztelu  &  Juan 
Vazquez,  8  de  Noviembre,  1556,  MS. 

3*  "Sobre  que  su  magestad  dizo  algunas  cosas  con  mas  colera  de  la 
que  para  su  salud  conviene."  Carta  de  Martin  de  Gazteiu  d  Juan 
Vazquez,  10  de  Enero,  1558,  MS. 

33  See,  in  particular,  Carta  del  Emperador  d  Su  Alteza,  4  de  Fe- 
brero,  1558,  MS. 

34  Brantome,  CEuvres,  torn.  i.  p.   n. — Whether  Charles  actually 
made  the  remark  or  not,  it  is  clear  from  a  letter  in  the  Gonzalez  col 
lection  that  this  was  uppermost  in  his  thoughts :  "  Su  Magestad  tenia 


HIS  INTEREST  IN  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS.       291 

At  another  time,  we  find  him  conducting  negotia 
tions  with  Navarre;35  and  then,  again,  carrying  on  a 
correspondence  with  his  sister,  the  regent  of  Portugal, 
for  th^  purpose  of  having  his  grandson,  Carlos,  recog 
nized  as  heir  to  the  crown  in  case  of  the  death  of  the 
young  king,  his  cousin.  The  scheme  failed,  for  it 
would  be  as  much  as  her  life  was  worth,  the  regent  said, 
to  engage  in  it.  But  it  was  a  bold  one,  that  of  bring 
ing  under  the  same  sceptre  these  t\vo  nations,  which, 
by  community  of  race,  language,  and  institutions, 
would  seem  by  nature  to  have  been  designed  for  one. 
It  was  Charles's  comprehensive  idea ;  and  it  proves 
that  even  in  the  cloister  the  spirit  of  ambition  had  not 
become  extinct  in  his  bosom.  How  much  would  it 
have  rejoiced  that  ambitious  spirit  could  he  have  fore 
seen  that  the  consummation  so  much  desired  by  him 
would  be  attained  under  Philip  ! 36 

gran  deseo  de  saber  que  partido  tomaba  el  rey  su  hijo  despues  de  la 
victoria,  y  que  estaba  impacientissimo  formando  cuentas  de  que  ya 
deberia  estar  sobre  Paris."  Carta  de  Quixada,  19  de  Setiembre, 
1557,  ap.  Mignet,  Charles-Quint,  p.  279. — It  is  singular  that  this  in 
teresting  letter  is  neither  in  M.  Gachard's  collection  nor  in  that  made 
for  me  from  the  same  sources. 

35  Cartas  del  Emperador  &  Juan  Vazquez,  de  Setiembre  27  y  Octu- 
bre  31,  1557,  MS. 

36  The  emperor  intimates  his  wishes  in  regard  to  his  grandson's 
succession  in  a  letter  addressed,  at  a  later  period,  to  Philip.     (Carta 
del  Emperador  al  Rey,  31  de  Marzo,  1558,  MS.)     But  a  full  account 
of  the  Portuguese  mission  is  given  by  Cienfuegos,  Vida  de  S.  Fran 
cisco  de  Borja  (Barcelona,  1754),  p.  269.     The  person  employed  by 
Charles  in  this  delicate  business  was  no  other  than  his  friend  Francisco 
Borja,  the  ex-duke  of  Gandia,  who,  like  himself,  had  sought  a  retreat 
from  the  world  in  the  shades  of  the  cloister.     The  biographers  who 
record  the  miracles  and  miraculous  virtues  of  the  sainted  Jesuit  be 
stow  several  chapters  on  his  visits  to  Yuste.     His  conversations  with 


292      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

But  the  department  which  especially  engaged 
Charles's  attention  in  his  retirement,  singularly 
enough,  was  the  financial.  "It  has  been  my  con 
stant  care,"  he  writes  to  Philip,  "  in  all  my  letters  to 
your  sister,  to  urge  the  necessity  of  providing  you 
with  funds, — since  I  can  be  of  little  service  to  you  in 
any  other  way."37  His  interposition,  indeed,  seems 
to  have  been  constantly  invoked  to  raise  supplies  for 
carrying  on  the  war.  This  fact  may  be  thought  to 
show  that  those  writers  are  mistaken  who  accuse  Philip 
of  withholding  from  his  father  the  means  of  maintain 
ing  a  suitable  establishment  at  Yuste.  Charles,  in 
truth,  settled  the  amount  of  his  own  income ;  and  in 
one  of  his  letters  we  find  him  fixing  this  at  twenty 
thousand  ducats,  instead  of  sixteen  thousand,  as  before, 

the  emperor  are  reported  with  a  minuteness  that  Boswell  might  have 
envied,  and  which  may  well  provoke  our  skepticism,  unless  we  sup 
pose  them  to  have  been  reported  by  Borja  himself.  One  topic  much 
discussed  in  them  was  the  merits  of  the  order  which  the  emperor's 
friend  had  entered.  It  had  not  then  risen  to  that  eminence  which, 
under  its  singular  discipline,  it  subsequently  reached ;  and  Charles 
would  fain  have  persuaded  his  visitor  to  abandon  it  for  the  Jeronymite 
society  with  which  he  was  established.  But  Borja  seems  to  have 
silenced,  if  not  satisfied,  his  royal  master,  by  arguments  which  prove 
that  his  acute  mind  already  discerned  the  germ  of  future  greatness  in 
the  institutions  of  the  new  order. — Ibid.,  pp.  273-279. — Ribadeneira, 
Vita  Francisci  Borgiae  (Lat.  trans.,  Antverpiae,  1598).  p.  no,  et  seq. 

37  Carta  del  Emperador  al  Rey,  25  de  Mayo,  1558,  MS.— On  the 
margin  of  this  letter  we  find  the  following  memoranda  of  Philip  him 
self,  showing  how  much  importance  he  attached  to  his  father's  inter 
position  in  this  matter:  "Volverselo  a  suplicar  con  gran  instancia, 
pues  quedamos  in  tales  terminos  que,  si  me  ayudan  con  dinero,  los 
podriamos  atraer  a  lo  que  conviniesse."  "  Besalle  las  manos  por  lo 
que  en  esto  ha  mandado  y  suplicalle  lo  lleve  adelante  y  que  de  ac£ 
se  hard  lo  mismo,  y  avisarle  de  lo  que  se  han  hecho  hasta  agora." 


HIS  INTEREST  IN  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS. 


293 


to  be  paid  quarterly  and  in  advance.38  That  the  pay 
ments  were  not  always  punctually  made  may  well  be 
believed,  in  a  country  where  punctuality  would  have 
been  a  miracle. 

Charles  had  more  cause  for  irritation  in  the  conduct 
of  some  of  those  functionaries  with  whom  he  had  to 
deal  in  his  financial  capacity.  Nothing  appears  to 
have  stirred  his  bile  so  much  at  Yuste  as  the  proceed 
ings  of  some  members  of  the  board  of  trade  at  Seville. 
"I  have  deferred  sending  to  you,"  he  writes  to  his 
daughter,  the  regent,  "in  order  to  see  if,  with  time, 
my  wrath  would  not  subside.  But,  far  from  it,  it 
increases,  and  will  go  on  increasing  till  I  learn  that 
those  who  have  done  wrong  have  atoned  for  it.  Were 
it  not  for  my  infirmities,"  he  adds,  "I  would  go  to 
Seville  myself,  and  find  out  the  authors  of  this  villany 
and  bring  them  to  a  summary  reckoning."39  "The 
emperor  orders  me,"  writes  his  secretary,  Gaztelu, 
"to  command  that  the  offenders  be  put  in  irons,  and, 
in  order  to  mortify  them  the  more,  that  they  be  car 
ried,  in  broad  daylight,  to  Simancas,  and  there  lodged, 
not  in  towers  or  chambers,  but  in  a  dungeon.  Indeed, 
such  is  his  indignation,  and  such  are  the  violent  and 
^bloodthirsty  expressions  he  commands  me  to  use,  that 
you  will  pardon  me  if  my  language  is  not  so  temperate 
as  it  might  be."  4°  It  had  been  customary  for  the  board 

3s  Carta  del  Emperador  a   Juan  Vazquez,  31  de  Marzo,  1557,  MS. 

39  Carta  del  Emperador  a  la  Princesa,  31  de  Marzo,  1557,  MS. — 
The  whole  letter  is  singularly  characteristic  of  Charles.  Its  authori 
tative  tone  shows  that,  though  he  had  parted  with  the  crown,  he 
had  not  parted  with  the  temper  of  a  sovereign,  and  of  an  absolute 
sovereign  too. 

4°  "  Es  tal  su  indignacion  y  tan  sangrientas  las  palabras  y  vehe- 
25* 


<94     LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH. 

of  trade  to  receive  the  gold  imported  from  the  Indies, 
whether  on  public  or  private  account,  and  hold  it  for 
the  use  of  the  government,  paying  to  the  merchants 
interested  an  equivalent  in  government  bonds.  The 
merchants,  naturally  enough,  not  relishing  this  kind 
of  security  so  well  as  the  gold,  by  a  collusion  with 
some  of  the  members  of  the  board  of  trade,  had  been 
secretly  allowed  to  remove  their  own  property.  In 
this  way  the  government  was  defrauded — as  the  em 
peror  regarded  it — of  a  large  sum  on  which  it  had 
calculated.  This,  it  would  seem,  was  the  offence 
which  had  roused  the  royal  indignation  to  such  a 
pitch.  Charles's  phlegmatic  temperament  had  ever 
been  liable  to  be  ruffled  by  these  sudden  gusts  of 
passion;  and  his  conventual  life  does  not  seem  -to 
have  had  any  very  sedative  influence  on  him  in  this 
particular. 

For  the  first  ten  months  after  his  arrival  at  Yuste, 
the  emperor's  health,  under  the  influence  of  a  temper 
ate  climate,  the  quiet  of  monastic  life,  and  more  than 
all,  probably,  his  exemption  from  the  cares  of  state, 
had  generally  improved.41  His  attacks  of  gout  had 
been  less  frequent  and  less  severe  than  before.  But 
in  the  spring  of  1558  the  old  malady  returned  with 
renewed  violence.  "I  was  not  in  a  condition,"  he 

mencia  con  que  manda  escribir  &  v.  m.  que  me  disculpard'  sino  lo 
hago  con  mas  templat^a  y  modo."  Carta  de  Martin  de  Gaztelu  d 
Juan  Vazquez,  12  de  Mayo,  1557,  MS. 

4'  "  His  majesty  was  so  well,"  writes  Gaztelu,  early  in  the  summer 
°f  I557-  " tnat  ne  could  rise  from  his  seatj  and  support  his  arquebuse, 
without  aid."  He  could  even  do  some  mischief  with  his  fowling- 
piece  to  the  wood-pigeons.  Carta  de  Gaztelu  &  Vazquez,  5  de  Junio, 
1557-  MS. 


HIS   INTEREST  IN  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS.       295 

writes  to  Philip,  "to  listen  to  a  single  sermon  during 
Lent."42  For  months  he  was  scarcely  able  to  write  a 
line  with  his  own  hand.  His  spirits  felt  the  pressure 
of  bodily  suffering,  and  were  still  further  depressed  by 
the  death  of  his  sister  Eleanor,  the  queen-dowager 
of  France  and  Portugal,  which  took  place  in  February, 
1558. 

A  strong  attachment  seems  to  have  subsisted  between 
the  emperor  and  his  two  sisters.  Queen  Eleanor's 
sweetness  of  disposition  had  particularly  endeared  her 
to  her  brother,  who  now  felt  her  loss  almost  as  keenly 
as  that  of  one  of  his  own  children.  "  She  was  a  good 
Christian,"  he  said  to  his  secretary,  Gaztelu;  and,  as 
the  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks,  he  added,  "We  have 
always  loved  each  other.  She  was  my  elder  by  fifteen 
months;  and  before  that  period  has  passed  I  shall  prob 
ably  .be  with  her."43  Before  half  that  period  the  sad 
augury  was  fulfilled. 

At  this  period — as  we  shall  see  hereafter — the  atten 
tion  of  the  government  was  called  to  the  Lutheran 
heresy,  which  had  already  begun  to  disclose  itself  in 

42  "  Porque  desde  tantos  de  noviembre  hasta  pocos  dias  ha  hame 
dado  [la  gota]  tres  vezes  y  muy  rezio,  y  me  ha  tenido  muchos  dias  en 
la  cama,  y  hestado  hasta  de  poco  aca  tan  trabajado  y  flaco  que  en 
toda  esta  quaresma  no  he  podido  oyr  un  sermon,  y  esto  es  la  causa 
porque  no  os  escribo  esta  de  mi  mano."     Carta  del  Emperador  al 
Rev,  7  de  Abril,  1558,  MS. 

43  "Sintiolo  cierto  mucho,  y  se  le  arrasdron  los  ojos,  y  me  dijo  lo 
mucho  que  el  y  la  de  Francia  se  habiroi  siempre  querido,  y  por  cuan 
buena  cristiana  la  tenia,  y  que  le  llevaba  quince  meses  de  tiempo,  y 
que,  segun  el  se  iba  sintiendo  de  poco  acd,  podria  ser  que  dentro  de 
ellos  le  hiciese  compania."     Carta  de  Gaztelu  a  Vazquez,  21  de  Fe- 
brero,  1558,  ap.  Gachard,  Retraite  et  Mort,  torn.  i.  p.  270. — See  also 
Mignet,  Charles-Quint,  p.  330. 


296     LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

various  quarters  of  the  country.  Charles  was  possessed 
of  a  full  share  of  the  spirit  of  bigotry  which  belonged 
to  the  royal  line  of  Castile,  from  which  he  was  de 
scended.  While  on  the  throne,  this  feeling  was  held 
somewhat  in  check  by  a  regard  for  his  political  inter 
ests.  But  in  the  seclusion  of  the  monastery  he  had  no 
interests  to  consult  but  those  of  religion  ;  and  he  gave 
free  scope  to  the  spirit  of  intolerance  which  belonged 
to  his  nature.  In  a  letter  addressed,  the  third  of  May, 
1558,  to  his  daughter  Joanna,  he  says,  "Tell  the  grand 
inquisitor  from  me  to  be  at  his  post,  and  lay  the  axe  at 
the  root  of  the  evil  before  it  spreads  further.  I  rely 
on  your  zeal  for  bringing  the  guilty  to  punishment, 
and  for  having  them  punished,  without  favor  to  any 
one,  with  all  the  severity  which  their  crimes  de 
mand."44  In  another  letter  to  his  daughter,  three 
weeks  later,  he  writes,  "  If  I  had  not  entire  confidence 
that  you  would  do  your  duty,  and  arrest  the  evil  at 
once  by  chastising  the  guilty  in  good  earnest,  I  know 
not  how  I  could  help  leaving  the  monastery  and  taking 
the  remedy  into  my  own  hands. "4S  Thus  did  Charles 
make  his  voice  heard  from  his  retreat  among  the 
mountains,  and  by  his  efforts  and  influence  render 
himself  largely  responsible  for  the  fiery  persecution 
which  brought  woe  upon  the  land  after  he  himself  had 
gone  to  his  account. 

44  "  Y  que  para  ello  les  deis  y  mandeis  dar  todo  el  favor  y  calor  que 
fuere  necesario  y  para  que  los  que  fueren  culpados  scan  punidos  y 
oastigados  con  la  demostracion  y  rigor  que  la  calidad  de  sus  culpas 
mereceran,  y  esto  sin  exception  de  persona  alguna."    Carta  del  Empe- 
rador  d  la  Princesa.  3  de  Mayo,  1558,  MS. 

45  "No  se  si  toviera  sufrimiento  para  no  salir  de  aqui  arremediallo." 
Carta  del  Emperador  a  la  Princesa,  25  de  Mayo,.  1558,  MS. 


HE   CELEBRATES  HIS   OBSEQUIES.         297 

About  the  middle  of  August  the  emperor's  old 
enemy,  the  gout,  returned  on  him  with  uncommon 
force.  It  was  attended  with  symptoms  of  an  alarming 
kind,  intimating,  indeed,  that  his  strong  constitution 
was  giving  way.  These  were  attributed  to  a  cold  which 
he  had  taken,  though  it  seems  there  was  good  reason 
for  imputing  them  to  his  intemperate  living;  for  he 
still  continued  to  indulge  his  appetite  for  the  most 
dangerous  dishes  as  freely  as  in  the  days  when  a  more 
active  way  of  life  had  better  enabled  him  to  digest 
them.  It  is  true,  the  physician  stood  by  his  side,  as 
prompt  as  Sancho  Panza's  doctor,  in  his  island  domain, 
to  remonstrate  against  his  master's  proceedings.  But, 
unhappily,  he  was  not  armed  with  the  authority  of  that 
functionary;  and  an  eel-pie,  a  well-spiced  capon,  or 
any  other  savory  abomination,  offered  too  great  a 
fascination  for  Charles  to  heed  the  warnings  of  his 
physician. 

The  declining  state  of  the  emperor's  health  may 
have  inspired  him  with  a  presentiment  of  his  approach 
ing  end,  to  which,  we  have  seen,  he  gave  utterance 
some  time  before  this,  in  his  conversation  with  Gaz- 
telu.  It  may  have  been  the  sober  reflections  which 
such  a  feeling  would  naturally  suggest  that  led  him, 
at  the  close  of  the  month  of  August,  to  conceive  the 
extraordinary  idea  of  preparing  for  the  final  scene  by 
rehearsing  his  own  funeral.  He  consulted  his  con 
fessor  on  the  subject,  and  was  encouraged  by  the 
accommodating  father  to  consider  it  as  a  meritorious 
act.  The  chapel  was  accordingly  hung  in  black,  and 
the  blaze  of  hundreds  of  wax-lights  was  not  sufficient 
to  dispel  the  darkness.  The  monks  in  their  conventual 

N* 


298      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

dresses,  and  all  the  emperor's  household,  clad  in  deep 
mourning,  gathered  round  a  huge  catafalque,  shrouded 
also  in  black,  which  had  been  raised  in  the  centre  of 
the  chapel.  The  service  for  the  burial  of  the  dead  was 
then  performed  ;  and,  amidst  the  dismal  wail  of  the 
monks,  the  prayers  ascended  for  the  departed  spirit, 
that  it  might  be  received  into  the  mansions  of  the 
blessed.  The  sorrowful  attendants  were  melted  to 
tears,  as  the  image  of  their  master's  death  was  pre 
sented  to  their  minds,  or  they  were  touched,  it  may 
be,  with  compassion  for  this  pitiable  display  of  his 
weakness.  .  Charles,  muffled  in  a  dark  mantle,  and 
bearing  a  lighted  candle  in  his  hand,  mingled  with 
his  household,  the  spectator  of  his  own  obsequies  ; 
and  the  doleful  ceremony  was  concluded  by  his  placing 
the  taper  in  the  hands  of  the  priest,  in  sign  of  his  sur 
rendering  up  his  soul  to  the  Almighty. 

Such  is  the  account  of  this  melancholy  farce  given 
us  by  the  Jeronymite  chroniclers  of  the  cloister-life  of 
Charles  the  Fifth,  and  which  has  since  been  repeated — 
losing  nothing  in  the  repetition — by  every  succeeding 
historian,  to  the  present  time.46  Nor  does  there  seem 

*6  The  history  of  this  affair  furnishes  a  good  example  of  the  crescit 
eundo.  The  author  of  the  MS.  discovered  by  M.  Bakhuizen,  noticed 
more  fully  in  the  next  note,  though  present  at  the  ceremony,  contents 
himself  with  a  general  outline  of  it.  Siguen9a,  who  follows  next  in 
time  and  in  authority,  tells  us  of  the  lighted  candle  which  Charles 
delivered  to  the  priest.  Strada,  who  wrote  a  generation  later,  con 
cludes  the  scene  by  leaving  the  emperor  in  a  swoon  upon  the  floor. 
Lastly,  Robertson,  after  making  the  emperor  perform  in  his  shrovid, 
lays  him  in  his  coffin,  where,  after  joining  in  the  prayers  for  the  rest  of 
his  own  soul,  not  yet  departed,  he  is  left  by  the  monks  to  his  medita 
tion^  ! — Where  Robertson  got  all  these  particulars  it  would  not  be  easy 
to  tell ;  certainly  not  from  the  authorities  cited  at  the  bottom  of  his  page. 


HE   CELEBRATES  HIS   OBSEQUIES.          299 

to  have  been  any  distrust  of  its  correctness  till  the 
historical  skepticism  of  our  own  day  had  subjected  the 
narrative  to  a  more  critical  scrutiny.  It  was  then 
discovered  that  no  mention  of  the  affair  was  to  be 
discerned  in  the  letters  of  any  one  of  the  emperor's 
household  residing  at  Yuste,  although  there  are  letters 
extant  written  by  Charles's  physician,  his  major-domo, 
and  his  secretary,  both  on  the  thirty-first  of  August, 
the  day  of  the  funeral,  and  on  the  first  of  September. 
With  so  extraordinary  an  event  fresh  in  their  minds, 
their  silence  is  inexplicable. 

One  fact  is  certain,  that,  if  the  funeral  did  take  place, 
it  could  not  have  been  on  the  date  assigned  to  it ;  for 
on  the  thirty-first  the  emperor  was  laboring  under  an 
attack  of  fever,  of  which  his  physician  has  given  full 
particulars,  and  from  which  he  was  destined  never  to 
recover.  That  the  writers,  therefore,  should  have  been 
silent  in  respect  to  a  ceremony  which  must  have  had 
so  bad  an  effect  on  the  nerves  of  the  patient,  is  alto 
gether  incredible. 

Yet  the  story  of  the  obsequies  comes  from  one  of  the 
Jeronymite  brethren  then  living  at  Yuste,  who  speaks 
of  the  emotions  which  he  felt,  in  common  with  the 
rest  of  the  convent,  at  seeing  a  man  thus  bury  himself 
alive,  as  it  were,  and  perform  his  funeral  rites  before 
his  death.47  It  is  repeated  by  another  of  the  fraternity, 

47  "  Et  j'assure  que  le  cceur  nous  fendait  de  voir  qu'un  homme 
voulut  en  quelque  sorte  s'enterrer  vivant,  et  faire  ses  obseques  avant 
de  mourir."  Gachard,  Retraite  et  Mort,  torn.  i.  p.  Ivi. — M.  Gachard 
has  given  a  translation  of  the  chapter  relating  to  the  funeral,  from  a 
curious  MS.  account  of  Charles's  convent-life,  discovered  by  M.  Bak- 
huizen  in  the  archives  at  Brussels.  As  the  author  was  one  of  the 
brotherhood  who  occupied  the  convent  at  the  time  of  the  emperor's 


300      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

the  prior  of  the  Escorial,  who  had  ample  means  of 
conversing  with  eye-witnesses.48  And,  finally,  it  is 
confirmed  by  more  than  one  writer  near  enough  to  the 
period  to  be  able  to  assure  himself  of  the  truth.49  In 
deed,  the  parties  from  whom  the  account  is  originally 
derived  were  so  situated  that  if  the  story  be  without 
foundation  it  is  impossible  to  explain  its  existence  by 
misapprehension  on  their  part.  It  must  be  wholly 
charged  on  a  wilful  misstatement  of  facts.  It  is  true, 
the  monkish  chronicler  is  not  always  quite  so  scrupu 
lous  in  this  particular  as  would  be  desirable, — especially 
where  the  honor  of  his  order  is  implicated.  But  what 

residence  there,  the  MS.  is  stamped  with  the  highest  authority;  and 
M.  Gachard  will  doubtless  do  a  good  service  to  letters  by  incorpo 
rating  it  in  the  second  volume  of  his  "  Retraite  ct  Mort." 

48  Siguen9a,  Hist,  de  la  Orden  de  San  Geronimo,  parte  iii.  pp.  200, 
201. — Siguen9a's  work,  which  combines  much  curious  learning  with  a 
simple  elegance  of  style,  was  the  fruit  of  many  years  of  labor.     The 
third  volume,  containing  the  part  relating  to  the  emperor,  appeared 
in  1605,  the  year  before  the  death  of  its  author,  who,  as  already  no 
ticed,  must  have  had  daily  communication  with  several  of  the  monks, 
when,  after  Charles's  death,  they  had  been  transferred  from  Yuste  to 
the  gloomy  shades  of  the  Escorial. 

49  Such,  for  example,  were  Vera  y  Figueroa,  Conde  de  la  Roca, 
whose   little  volume   appeared  in  1613  ;    Strada,  who  wrote  some 
twenty  years  later;  and  the  marquis  of  Valparayso,  whose  MS.  is 
dated  1638.     I  say  nothing  of  Sandoval,  often  quoted  as  authority 
for  the  funeral,  for,  as  he  tells  us  that  the  money  which  the  emperor 
proposed  to  devote  to  a  mock  funeral  was  after  all  appropriated  to 
his  real  one,  it  would  seem  to  imply  that  the  former  never  took  place. 
— It  were  greatly  to  be  wished  that  the   MS.  of  Fray  Martin   de 
Angulo  could  be  detected  and  brought  to  light.     As  prior  of  Yuste 
while  Charles  was  there,  his  testimony  would  be  invaluable.     Both 
Sandoval   and   the   marquis  of  Valparayso   profess   to   have   relied 
mainly  on  Angulo's  authority.     Yet  in  this  very  affair  of  the  funeral 
they  disagree. 


HE    CELEBRATES  HIS   OBSEQUIES.         301 

interest  could  the  Jeronyrnite  fathers  have  had  in  so 
foolish  a  fabrication  as  this?  The  supposition  is  at 
variance  with  the  respectable  character  of  the  parties, 
and  with  the  air  of  simplicity  and  good  faith  that 
belongs  to  their  narratives.30 

We  may  well  be  staggered,  it  is  true,  by  the  fact  that 
no  allusion  to  the  obsequies  appears  in  any  of  the  letters 
from  Yuste ;  while  the  date  assigned  for  them,  more 
over,  is  positively  disproved.  Yet  we  may  consider 
that  the  misstatement  of  a  date  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  the  invention  of  a  story,  and  that  chronological 
accuracy,  as  I  have  more  than  once  had  occasion  to 
remark,  was  not  the  virtue  of  the  monkish  or  indeed 
of  any  other  historian  of  the  sixteenth  century.  It 
would  not  be  a  miracle  if  the  obsequies  should  have 
taken  place  some  days  before  the  period  assigned  to 
them.  It  so  happens  that  we  have  no  letters  from 
Yuste  between  the  eighteenth  and  the  twenty-seventh 
of  August.  At  least,  I  have  none  myself,  and  have 
seen  none  cited  by  others.  If  any  should  hereafter 
come  to  light,  written  during  that  interval,  they  may 
be  found  possibly  to  contain  some  allusion  to  the 
funeral.  Should  no  letters  have  been  written  during 
the  period,  the  silence  of  the  parties  who  wrote  at  the 
end  of  August  and  the  beginning  of  September  may  be 
explained  by  the  fact  that  too  long  a  time  had  elapsed 
since  the  performance  of  the  emperor's  obsequies  for 
them  to  suppose  it  could  have  any  connection  with  his 

5°  Siguen9a's  composition  may  be  characterized  as  simplex  mun~ 
ditiis.  The  MS.  of  the  monk  of  Yuste,  found  in  Brussels,  is  stamped, 
says  M.  Gachard,  with  the  character  of  simplicity  and  truth.  Retraite 
et  Mort,  torn.  i.  p.  xx. 

Philip.— VOL.  I.  26 


302      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH. 

illness,  which  formed  the  subject  of  their  correspond 
ence.  Difficulties  will  present  themselves,  whichever 
view  we  take  of  the  matter.  But  the  reader  may  think 
it  quite  as  reasonable  to  explain  those  difficulties  by 
the  supposition  of  involuntary  error  as  by  that  of  sheer 
invention. 

Nor  is  the  former  supposition  rendered  less  probable 
by  the  character  of  Charles  the  Fifth.  There  was  a 
taint  of  insanity  in  the  royal  blood  of  Castile,  which 
was  most  fully  displayed  in  the  emperor's  mother, 
Joanna.  Some  traces  of  it,  however  faint,  may  be 
discerned  in  his  own  conduct  before  he  took  refuge  in 
the  cloisters  of  Yuste.  And  though  we  may  not  agree 
with  Paul  the  Fourth  in  regarding  this  step  as  sufficient 
evidence  of  his  madness,51  we  may  yet  find  something 
in  his  conduct,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  while 
there,  which  is  near  akin  to  it.  Such,  for  example, 
was  the  morbid  relish  which  he  discovered  for  per 
forming  the  obsequies  not  merely  of  his  kindred,  but 
of  any  one  whose  position  seemed  to  him  to  furnish  an 
apology  for  it.  Not  a  member  of  the  toison  died,  but 
he  was  prepared  to  commemorate  jthe  event  with  solemn 
funeral  rites.  These,  in  short,  seemed  to  be  the  festivi 
ties  of  Charles's  cloister-life.  These  lugubrious  cere 
monies  had  a  fascination  for  him  that  may  remind  one 
of  the  tenacity  with  which  his  mother,  Joanna,  clung 
to  the  dead  body  of  her  husband,  taking  it  with  her 
wherever  she  went.  It  was  after  celebrating  the  obse 
quies  of  his  parents  and  his  wife,  which  occupied  several 
successive  days,  that  he  conceived,  as  we  are  told,  the 
idea  of  rehearsing  his  own  funeral, — a  piece  of  extrava- 

5*  Mignet,  Charles-Quint,  p.  I. 


HIS  LAST  ILLNESS.  303 

gance  which  becomes  the  more  credible  when  we  reflect 
on  the  state  of  morbid  excitement  to  which  his  mind 
may  have  been  brought  by  dwelling  so  long  on  the 
dreary  apparatus  of  death. 

But,  whatever  be  thought  of  the  account  of  the  mock 
funeral  of  Charles,  it  appears  that  on  the  thirtieth  of 
August  he  was  affected  by  an  indisposition  which  on 
the  following  day  was  attended  with  most  alarming 
symptoms.  Here  also  we  have  some  particulars  from 
his  Jeronymite  biographers  which  we  do  not  find  in 
the  letters.  On  the  evening  of  the  thirty-first,  accord 
ing  to  their  account,  Charles  ordered  a  portrait  of  the 
empress,  his  wife,  of  whom,  as  we  have  seen,  he  had 
more  than  one  in  his  collection,  to  be  brought  to  him. 
He  dwelt  a  long  while  on  its  beautiful  features,  "as 
if,"  says  the  chronicler,  "he  were  imploring  her  to 
prepare  a  place  for  him  in  the  celestial  mansions  to 
which  she  had  gone."52  He  then  passed  to  the  con 
templation  of  another  picture, — Titian's  "Agony  in 
the  Garden,"  and  from  this  to  that  immortal  produc 
tion  of  his  pencil,  the  "Gloria,"  as  it  is  called,  which 
is  said  to  have  hung  over  the  high  altar  at  Yuste,  and 
which,  after  the  emperor's  death,  followed  his  remains 
to  the  ETscorial.53  He  gazed  so  long  and  with  such 
rapt  attention  on  the  picture  as  to  cause  apprehension 
in  his  physician,  who,  in  the  emperor's  debilitated 
state,  feared  the  effects  of  such  excitement  on  his 

52  "  Estuvo  un  poco  contemplandole,  devia  de  pedirle,  que  le  pre- 
viniesse  lugar  en  el  Alcazar  glorioso  que  habitava."    Vera  y  Figueroa, 
Carlos  Quinto,  p.  127. 

53  This  famous  picture,  painted  in  the  artist's  best  style,  forms  now 
one  of  the  noblest  ornaments  of  the  Museo  of  Madrid.     See  Ford, 
Handbook  of  Spain,  p.  758. 


304     LATTER  DAYS   OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

nerves.  There  was  good  reason  for  apprehension  ;  for 
Charles,  at  length,  rousing  from  his  reverie,  turned  to 
the  doctor  and  complained  that  he  was  ill.  His  pulse 
showed  him  to  be  in  a  high  fever.  As  the  symptoms 
became  more  unfavorable,  his  physician  bled  him,  but 
without  any  good  effect.54  The  Regent  Joanna,  on 
learning  her  father's  danger,  instantly  despatched  her 
own  physician  from  Valladolid  to  his  assistance.  But 
no  earthly  remedies  could  avail.  It  soon  became  evi 
dent  that  the  end  was  approaching.55 

Charles  received  the  intelligence  not  merely  with 
composure,  but  with  cheerfulness.  It  was  what  he  had 
long  desired,  he  said.  His  first  care  was  to  complete 
some  few  arrangements  respecting  his  affairs.  On  the 
ninth  of  September  he  executed  a  codicil  to  his  will. 
The  will,  made  a  few  years  previous,  was  of  great 
length,  and  the  codicil  had  not  the  merit  of  brevity. 
Its  principal  object  was  to  make  provision  for  those  who 
had  followed  him  to  Yuste.  No  mention  is  made  in 
the  codicil  of  his  son  Don  John  of  Austria.  He  seems 
to  have  communicated  his  views  in  regard  to  him  to 
his  major-domo,  Quixada,  who  had  a  private  interview 
of  some  length  with  his  master  a  few  days  before  his 
death.  Charles's  directions  on  the  subject  appear  to 
have  been  scrupulously  regarded  by  Philip.56 

54  For  the  above  account  of  the  beginning  of  Charles's  illness,  see 
Siguen^a,  Orden  de  San  Geronimo,  parte  iii.  p.  201 ;  Vera  y  Figueroa, 
Carlos  Quinto,  p.  127;  Valparayso,  El  perfecto  Desengano,  MS. 

55  Vera  y  Figueroa,  Carlos  Quinto,  p.  127. — Siguen9a,  Orden  de 
San  Geronimo,  parte  iii.  p.  201. — Carta  de  Luis  Quixada  al  Rey,  17 
de  Setiembre,  1558,  MS. 

s6  The  Regent  Joanna,  it  seems,  suspected,  for  some  reason  or 
other,  that  the  boy  in  Quixada's  care  was  in  fact  the  emperor's  son. 


HIS  LAST  ILLNESS. 


305 


One  clause  in  the  codicil  deserves  to  be  noticed. 
The  emperor  conjures  his  son  most  earnestly,  by  the 
obedience  he  owes  him,  to  follow  up  and  bring  to 
justice  every  heretic  in  his  dominions,  and  this  without 
exception  and  without  favor  or  mercy  to  any  one.  He 
conjures  Philip  to  cherish  the  Holy  Inquisition,  as  the 
best  instrument  for  accomplishing  this  good  work. 
"  So,"  he  concludes,  "  shall  you  have  my  blessing,  and 
the  Lord  shall  prosper  all  your  undertakings."57  Such 
were  the  last  words  of  the  dying  monarch  to  his  son. 
They  did  not  fall  on  a  deaf  ear;  and  the  parting  ad 
monition  of  his  father  served  to  give  a  keener  edge  to 
the  sword  of  persecution  which  Philip  had  already 
begun  to  wield. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  September,  Charles's  strength 
had  declined  so  much  that  it  was  thought  proper  to 
administer  extreme  unction  to  him.  He  preferred  to 
have  it  in  the  form  adopted  by  the  friars,  which,  com 
prehending  a  litany,  the  seven  penitential  psalms,  and 
sundry  other  passages  of  Scripture,  was  much  longer 

A  few  weeks  after  her  father's  death  she  caused  a  letter  to  be  ad 
dressed  to  the  major-domo,  asking  him  directly  if  this  were  the  case, 
and  intimating  a  desire  to  make  a  suitable  provision  for  the  youth. 
The  wary  functionary,  who  tells  this  in  his  private  correspondence 
with  Philip,  endeavored  to  put  the  regent  off  the  scent  by  stating  that 
the  lad  was  the  son  of  a  friend,  and  that,  as  no  allusion  had  been 
made  to  him  in  the  emperor's  will,  there  could  be  no  foundation  for 
the  rumor:  "  Ser  ansy  que  yo  tenya  un  muchacho  de  hun  caballero 
amygo  myo  que  me  abia  encomendado  anos  a,  y  que  pues  S.  M.  en 
su  testamento  ni  codecilyo,  no  azia  memorya  del,  que  hera  razon  te- 
nello  por  burla."  Carta  de  Luis  Quixada  al  Rey,  28  de  Noviembre, 
1558,  MS. 

57  Codicilo  del  Emperador,  ap.  Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn, 
ii.  p.  657. 

26* 


306      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH. 

and  more  exhausting  than  the  rite  used  by  the  laity. 
His  strength  did  not  fail  under  it,  however;  and  the 
following  day  he  desired  to  take  the  communion,  as  he 
had  frequently  done  during  his  illness.  On  his  con 
fessor's  representing  that,  after  the  sacrament  of  ex 
treme  unction,  this  was  unnecessary,  he  answered, 
"  Perhaps  so,  but  it  is  good  provision  for  the  long  jour 
ney  I  am  to  set  out  upon." s8  Exhausted  as  he  was,  he 
knelt  a  full  quarter  of  an  hour  in  his  bed  during  the 
ceremony,  offering  thanks  to  God  for  his  mercies,  and 
expressing  the  deepest  contrition  for  his  sins,  with  an 
earnestness  of  manner  that  touched  the  hearts  of  all 
present.59 

Throughout  his  illness  he  had  found  consolation  in 
having  passages  of  Scripture,  especially  the  Psalms, 
read  to  him.  Quixada,  careful  that  his  master  should 
not  be  disquieted  in  his  last  moments,  would  allow  very 
few  persons  to  be  present  in  his  chamber.  Among  the 
number  was  Bartolome  de  Carranza,  who  had  lately 
been  raised  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Toledo.  He 
had  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  persecution  in  Eng 
land  under  Mary.  For  the  remainder  of  his  life  he 
was  to  be  the  victim  of  persecution  himself,  from  a 
stronger  arm  than  his, — that  of  the  Inquisition.  Even 
the  words  of  consolation  which  he  uttered  in  this  cham 
ber  of  death  were  carefully  treasured  up  by  Charles's 
confessor  and  made  one  of  the  charges  against  him  in 
his  impeachment  for  heresy. 

58  "  Si  bien  no  sea  necessario  no  os  parece,  que  es  buena  compaiiia 
para  Jornada  tan  larga."    Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  617. 

59  Carta  sobre  los  ultimos  momentos  del   Emperador  Carlos  V., 
escrita  en  Yuste,  el  27  de  Setiembre,  1558,  ap.  Documentos  ineditos, 
torn.  vi.  p.  668. 


HIS  DEATH  AND    CHARACTER. 


3°7 


On  the  twenty-first  of  September,  St.  Matthew's 
day,  about  two  hours  after  midnight,  the  emperor, 
who  had  remained  long  without  speaking,  feeling  that 
his  hour  had  come,  exclaimed,  "Now  it  is  time!" 
'The  holy  taper  was  placed  lighted  in  his  right  hand, 
as  he  sat  up  leaning  on  the  shoulder  of  the  faithful 
Quixada.  With  his  left  he  endeavored  to  clasp  a 
silver  crucifix.  It  had  comforted  the  empress,  his 
wife,  in  her  dying  hour;  and  Charles  had  ordered 
Quixada  to  hold  it  in  readiness  for  him  on  the  like 
occasion.60  It  had  lain  for  some  time  on  his  breast; 
and  as  it  was  now  held  up  before  his  glazing  eye  by 
the  archbishop  of  Toledo,  Charles  fixed  his  gaze  long 
and  earnestly  on  the  sacred  symbol, — to  him  the 
memento  of  earthly  love  as  well  as  heavenly.  The 
archbishop  was  repeating  the  psalm  De  Profundis, — 
"  Out  of  the  depths  have  I  cried  unto  thee,  O  Lord !" 
— when  the  dying  man,  making  a  feeble  effort  to  em 
brace  the  crucifix,  exclaimed,  in  tones  so  audible  as  to 
be  heard  in  the  adjoining  room,  "  Ay  Jesus !"  and, 
sinking  back  on  the  pillow,  expired  without  a  strug 
gle.61  He  had  always  prayed — perhaps  fearing  the 

60  Carta  de  Luis  Quixada  a  Juan  Vazquez,  25  de  Setiembre,  1558, 
MS. — Carta  del  mismo  al  Rev,  30  de  Setiembre,  1558,  MS. — Carta 
del  Arzobispo  de  Toledo  a  la  Princesa,  21  de  Setiembre,  1558,  MS. 

61  "  Tomo  la  candela  en  la  mano  derecha  la  qual  yo  tenya  y  con  la 
yzquyerda  tomo  el  crucifixo  deziendo,  ya  es  tiempo,  y  con  dezir  Jesus 
acabo."     Carta  de  Luis  Quixada  a  Juan  Vazquez,  25  de  Setiembre, 
1558,  MS. — For  the  accounts  of  this  death-bed  scene,  see  Carta  del 
mismo  al  mismo,  21  de  Setiembre,  MS. — Carta  del  mismo  al  Rev,  21 
de  Setiembre,  MS. — Carta  del   mismo  al  mismo,  30  de  Setiembre, 
MS. — Carta  del  Arzobispo  de  Toledo  a  la  Princesa,  21  de  Setiembre, 
MS. — Carta  del  Medico  del  Emperador  (Henrico  Matisio)  a  Juan 
Vazquez,  21  de  Setiembre,  MS. — Carta  sobre  los  ultimos  mementos 


308      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH. 

hereditary  taint  of  insanity — that  he  might  die  in 
possession  of  his  faculties.62  His  prayer  was  granted. 

The  emperor's  body,  after  being  embalmed  and 
placed  in  its  leaden  coffin,  lay  in  state  in  the  chapel 
for  three  days,  during  which  three  discourses  were 
pronounced  over  it  by  the  best  preachers  in  the  con 
vent.  It  was  then  consigned  to  the  earth,  with  due 
solemnity,  amidst  the  prayers  and  tears  of  the  brethren 
and  of  Charles's  domestics,  in  presence  of  a  numerous 
concourse  of  persons  from  the  surrounding  country. 

The  burial  did  not  take  place,  however,  without 
some  difficulty.  Charles  had  requested  by  his  will 
that  he  might  be  laid  partially  under  the  great  altar, 
in  such  a  manner  that  his  head  and  the  upper  part  of 
his  body  might  come  under  the  spot  where  the  priest 
stood  when  he  performed  the  service.  This  was  dic 
tated  in  all  humility  by  the  emperor;  but  it  raised  a 
question  among  the  scrupulous  ecclesiastics  as  to  the 
propriety  of  permitting  any  bones  save  those  of  a  saint 
to  occupy  so  holy  a  place  as  that  beneath  the  altar. 
The  dispute  waxed  somewhat  warmer  than  was  suited 
to  the  occasion  ;  till  the  momentous  affair  was  finally 
adjusted  by  having  an  excavation  made  in  the  wall, 
within  which  the  head  was  introduced,  so  as  to  allow 
the  feet  to  touch  the  verge  of  the  hallowed  ground.63 
The  emperor's  body  did  not  long  abide  in  its  resting- 
place  at  Yuste.  Before  many  years  had  elapsed,  it  was 

del  Emperador,  27  de  Setiembre,  ap.  Documentos  ineditos,  vol.  vi.  p. 
667. — Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  618. — The  MSS.  re 
ferred  to  may  now  be  all  found  in  the  printed  collection-  of  Gachard. 

63  "  Temiendo  siempre  no  lo  poder  tener  en  aquel  tiempo."  Carta 
de  Luis  Quixada  al  Rey,  30  de  Setiembre,  MS. 

63  Documentos  ineditos,  torn.  vi.  p.  669. 


HIS  DEATH  AND    CHARACTER.  309 

transported,  by  command  of  Philip  the  Second,  to  the 
Escorial ;  and  in  that  magnificent  mausoleum  it  has 
continued  to  repose,  beside  that  of  the  Empress 
Isabella. 

The  funeral  obsequies  of  Charles  were  celebrated 
with  much  pomp  by  the  court  of  Rome,  by  the  Regent 
Joanna  at  Valladolid,  and,  with  yet  greater  magnifi 
cence,  by  Philip  the  Second  at  Brussels.  Philip  was 
at  Arras  when  he  learned  the  news  of  his  father's 
death.  He  instantly  repaired  to  a  monastery  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Brussels,  where  he  remained  secluded 
for  several  weeks.  Meanwhile  he  ordered  the  bells  in 
all  the  churches  and  convents  throughout  the  Nether 
lands  to  be  tolled  thrice  a  day  for  four  months,  and 
during  that  time  that  no  festivals  or  public  rejoicings 
of  any  kind  should  take  place.  On  the  twenty-eighth 
of  December  the  king  entered  Brussels  by  night,  and 
on  the  following  day,  before  the  hour  of  vespers,  a 
procession  was  formed  to  the  church  of  Ste.  Gudule, 
which  still  challenges  the  admiration  of  the  traveller 
as  one  of  the  noblest  monuments  of  mediaeval  archi 
tecture  in  the  Netherlands. 

The  procession  consisted  of  the  principal  clergy, 
the  members  of  the  different  religious  houses,  bearing 
lighted  tapers  in  their  hands,  the  nobles  and  cavaliers 
about  the  court,  the  great  officers  of  state,  and  the 
royal  household,  all  clad  in  deep  mourning.  After 
these  came  the  knights  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  wearing 
the  insignia  and  the  superb  dress  of  the  order.  The 
marquis  of  Aguilar  bore  the  imperial  sceptre,  the  duke 
of  Villahermosa  the  sword,  and  the  prince  of  Orange 
carried  the  globe  and  the  crown  of  the  empire.  Philip 


3io      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

came  on  foot,  wrapped  in  a  sable  mantle,  with  his 
head  buried  in  a  deep  cowl.  His  train  was  borne  by 
Ruy  Gomez  de  Silva,  the  favorite  minister.  Then 
followed  the  duke  of  Savoy,  walking  also  alone,  with 
his  head  covered,  as  a  prince  of  the  blood.  Files  of 
the  Spanish  and  German  guard,  in  their  national 
uniforms,  formed  an  escort  to  the  procession,  as  it 
took  its  way  through  the  principal  streets,  which  were 
illumined  with  a  blaze  of  torchlight,  that  dispelled  the 
gathering  shadows  of  evening. 

A  conspicuous  part  of  the  procession  was  a  long  train 
of  horses  led  each  by  two  gentlemen,  and  displaying 
on  their  splendid  housings,  and  the  banners  which  they 
carried,  the  devices  and  arms  of  the  several  states  over 
which  the  emperor  presided. 

But  no  part  of  the  pageant  attracted  so  much  notice 
from  the  populace  as  a  stately  galley,  having  its  sides 
skilfully  painted  with  battle-pieces  suggested  by  differ 
ent  actions  in  which  Charles  had  been  engaged,  while 
its  sails  of  black  silk  were  covered  with  inscriptions 
in  letters  of  gold,  that  commemorated  the  triumphs  of 
the  hero. 

Although  the  palace  was  at  no  great  distance  from 
Ste.  -Gudule's,  the  procession  occupied  two  hours  in 
passing  to  the  church.  In  the  nave  of  the  edifice 
stood  a  sort  of  chapel,  constructed  for  the  occasion. 
Its  roof,  or  rather  canopy,  displaying  four  crowns 
embroidered  in  gold,  rested  on  four  Ionic  pillars 
curiously  wrought.  Within  lay  a  sarcophagus  cov 
ered  with  a  dark  pall  of  velvet,  surmounted  by  a 
large  crimson  cross.  The  imperial  crown,  together 
with  the  globe  and  sceptre,  was  deposited  in  this 


HIS  DEATH  AND    CHARACTER.  311 

chapel,  which  was  lighted  up  with  three  thousand  wax 
tapers. 

In  front  of  it  was  a  scaffolding  covered  with  black, 
on  which  a  throne  was  raised  for  Philip.  The  nobles 
and  great  officers  of  the  crown  occupied  the  seats,  or 
rather  steps,  below.  Drapery  of  dark  velvet  and  cloth 
of  gold,  emblazoned  with  the  imperial  arms,  was  sus 
pended  across  the  arches  of  the  nave ;  above  which 
ran  galleries,  appropriated  to  the  duchess  of  Lorraine 
and  the  ladies  of  the  court.64 

The  traveller  who  at  this  time  visits  this  venerable 
pile,  where  Charles  the  Fifth  was  wont  to  hold  the 
chapters  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  while  he  gazes  on  the 
characteristic  effigy  of  that  monarch,  as  it  is  displayed 
on  the  superb  windows  of  painted  glass,  may  call  to 
mind  the  memorable  day  when  the  people  of  Flanders, 
and  the  rank  and  beauty  of  its  capital,  were  gathered 
together  to  celebrate  the  obsequies  of  the  great  em 
peror  ;  when,  amidst  clouds  of  incense  and  the  blaze 
of  myriads  of  lights,  the  deep  tones  of  the  organ, 
vibrating  through  the  long  aisles,  mingled  with  the 
voices  of  the  priests,  as  they  chanted  their  sad  requiem 
to  the  soul  of  their  departed  sovereign.63 

<*4  Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  620. 

65  At  least,  such  were  the  images  suggested  to  my  mind,  as  I  wan 
dered  through  the  aisles  of  this  fine  old  cathedral,  on  a  visit  which  I 
made  to  Brussels  a  few  years  since, — in  the  summer  of  1850.  Perhaps 
the  reader  will  excuse,  as  germaine  to  this  matter,  a  short  sketch  re 
lating  to  it,  from  one  of  my  letters  written  on  the  spot  to  a  distant 
friend : — 

"  Then  the  noble  cathedral  of  Brussels,  dedicated  to  one  Saint 
Gudule, — the  superb  organ  filling  its  long  aisles  with  the  most  heart- 
thrilling  tones,  as  the  voices  of  the  priests,  dressed  in  their  rich  robes 
of  purple  and  gold,  rose  in  a  chant  that  died  away  in  the  immense 


3i2      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

I  have  gone  somewhat  into  detail  in  regard  to  the 
latter  days  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  who  exercised  in  his 
retirement  too  important  an  influence  on  public  affairs 
for  such  an  account  of  him  to  be  deemed  an  imperti 
nent  episode  to  the  history  of  Philip  the  Second. 
Before  parting  from  him  forever,  I  will  take  a  brief 
view  of  some  peculiarities  in  his  personal  rather  than 
his  political  character,  which,  has  long  since  been  in 
delibly  traced  by  a  hand  abler  than  mine. 

Charles,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  in  the  fifty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  older  in  constitution 
than  in  years.  So  much  shaken  had  he  been,  indeed, 
in  mind  as  well  as  body,  that  he  may  be  said  to  have 
died  of  premature  old  age.  Yet  his  physical  develop 
ment  had  been  very  slow.  He  was  nearly  twenty-one 

vaulted  distance  of  the  cathedral.  It  was  the  service  of  the  dead,  and 
the  coffin  of  some  wealthy  burgher,  probably,  to  judge  from  its  deco 
rations,  was  in  the  choir.  A  number  of  persons  were  kneeling  arid 
saying  their  prayers  in  rapt  attention,  little  heeding  the  Protestant 
strangers  who  were  curiously  gazing  at  the  pictures  and  statues  with 
which  the  edifice  was  filled.  I  was  most  struck  with  one  poor  woman, 
who  was  kneeling  before  the  shrine  of  the  saint,  whose  marble  corpse, 
covered  by  a  decent  white  gauze  veil,  lay  just  before  her,  separated  only 
by  a  light  railing.  The  setting  sun  was  streaming  in  through  the  rich 
colored  panes  of  the  magnificent  windows,  that  rose  from  the  floor  to 
the  ceiling  of  the  cathedral,  some  hundred  feet  in  height.  The  glass 
was  of  the  time  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  and  I  soon  recognized  his 
familiar  face, — the  protruding  jaw  of  the  Austrian  line.  As  I  heard 
the  glorious  anthem  rise  up  to  heaven  in  this  time-honored  cathedral, 
which  had  witnessed  generation  after  generation  melt  away,  and 
which  now  displayed,  in  undying  colors,  the  effigies  of  those  who  had 
once  worshipped  within  its  walls,  I  was  swept  back  to  a  distant  period, 
and  felt  I  was  a  contemporary  of  the  grand  old  times  when  Charles 
the  Fifth  held  the  chapters  of  the'  Golden  Fleece  in  this  very 
building." 


HIS  DEATH  AND    CHARACTER.  3x3 

years  old  before  any  beard  was  to  be  seen  on  his  chin.66 
Yet  by  the  time  he  was  thirty-six,  gray  hairs  began  to 
make  their  appearance  on  his  temples.  At  forty  the 
gout  had  made  severe  inroads  on  a  constitution  origi 
nally  strong ;  and  before  he  was  fifty,  the  man  who 
could  keep  the  saddle  day  and  night  in  his  campaigns, 
who  seemed  to  be  insensible  to  fatigue  as  he  followed 
the  chase  among  the  wild  passes  of  the  Alpujarras,  was 
obliged  to  be  carried  in  a  litter,  like  a  poor  cripple,  at 
the  head  of  his  armies.67 

His  mental  development  was  equally  tardy  with  his 
bodily.  So  long  as  Chievres  lived,  —the  Flemish  noble 
who  had  the  care  of  his  early  life, — Charles  seemed  to 
have  no  will  of  his  own.  During  his  first  visit  to  Spain, 
where  he  came  when  seventeen  years  old,  he  gave  so 
little  promise  that  those  who  approached  him  nearest 
could  discern  no  signs  of  his  future  greatness.  Yet  the 
young  prince  seems  to  have  been  conscious  that  he  had 
the  elements  of  greatness  within  him,  and  he  patiently 
bided  his  time.  ll Nondum" — "Not  yet" — was  the 
motto  which  he  adopted  for  his  maiden  shield,  when 
but  eighteen  years  old,  at  a  tournament  at  Valladolid. 

But  when  the  death  of  the  Flemish  minister  had 
released  the  young  monarch  from  this  state  of  de 
pendence,  he  took  the  reins  into  his  own  hands,  as 

66  "  De  Rege  vero  Csesare  ajunt,  qui  ab  eo  veniunt,  barbatum  jam 
esse."     Petri  Martyris  Opus  Epistolarum  (Amstelodami,  1670,  fol.), 
ep.  734. 

67  In  this  outline  of  the  character  of  Charles  the  Fifth  I  have  not 
hesitated  to  avail  myself  of  the  masterly  touches  which  Ranke  has 
given  to  the  portrait  of  this  monarch,  in  the  introduction  to  that  por 
tion  of  his  great  work  on  the  nations  of  Southern  Europe  which  he 
has  devoted  to  Spain. 

Philip. — VOL.  I.— o  27 


314     LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

Louis  the  Fourteenth  did  on  the  death  of  Mazarin. 
He  now  showed  himself  in  an  entirely  new  aspect. 
He  even  displayed  greater  independence  than  his 
predecessors  had  done.  He  no  longer  trusted  every 
thing,  like  them,  to  a  council  of  state.  He  trusted 
only  to  himself;  and  if  he  freely  communicated  with 
some  one  favorite  minister,  like  the  elder  Granvelle, 
and  the  cardinal,  his  son,  it  was  in  order  to  be  coun 
selled,  not  to  be  controlled  by  their  judgments.  He 
patiently  informed  himself  of  public  affairs;  and  when 
foreign  envoys  had  their  audiences  of  him,  they  were 
surprised  to  find  him  possessed  of  every  thing  relating 
to  their  own  courts  and  the  objects  of  their  mission. 

Yet  he  did  not  seem  to  be  quick  of  apprehension, 
or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  he  was  slow  at  arriving  at 
his  results.  He  would  keep  the  courier  waiting  for 
days  before  he  could  come  to  a  decision.  When  he  did 
come  to  it,  no  person  on  earth  could  shake  it.  Talk 
ing  one  day  with  the  Venetian  Contarini  about  this 
habit  of  his  mind,  the  courtly  minister  remarked  that 
"it  was  not  obstinacy  to  adhere  to  sound  opinions." 
"True,"  said  Charles,"  but  I  sometimes  adhere  to 
those  that  are  unsound."68 

His  indefatigable  activity  both  of  mind  and  body 
formed  a  strong  contrast  to  the  lethargy  of  early  years. 
His  widely  scattered  empire,  spreading  over  the  Low 
Countries,  Spain,  Germany,  and  the  New  World,  pre 
sented  embarrassments  which  most  princes  would  have 
found  it  impossible  to  overcome.  At  least,  they  would 
have  been  compelled  to  govern,  in  a  great  measure,  by 

68  "  Qualche  fiate  io  son  fermo  in  le  cattive."  Contarini,  cited  by 
Ranke,  Ottoman  and  Spanish  Empires,  p.  29. 


HIS  DEATH  AND   CHARACTER. 


315 


deputy, — to  transact  their  business  by  agents.  But 
Charles  chose  to  do  every  thing  himself, — to  devise 
his  own  plans  and  to  execute  them  in  person.  The 
number  of  his  journeys  by  land  and  by  water,  as 
noticed  in  his  farewell  address,  is  truly  wonderful ; 
for  that  was  not  the  day  of  steamboats  and  railways. 
He  seemed  to  lead  the  life  of  a  courier.  But  it  was 
for  no  trivial  object  that  he  made  these  expeditions. 
He  knew  where  his  presence  was  needed  ;  and  his 
promptness  and  punctuality  brought  him  at  the  right 
time  on  the  right  spot.  No  spot  in  his  broad  empire 
was  far  removed  from  him.  He  seemed  to  possess  the 
power  of  ubiquity. 

The  consciousness  of  his  own  strength  roused  to  a 
flame  the  spark  of  ambition  which  had  hitherto  slept 
in  his  bosom.  His  schemes  were  so  vast  that  it  was 
a  common  opinion  he  aspired  to  universal  monarchy. 
Like  his  grandfather,  Ferdinand,  and  his  own  son, 
Philip,  he  threw  over  his  schemes  the  cloak  of  religion. 
Or,  to  deal  with  him  more  fairly,  religious  principle 
probably  combined  with  personal  policy  to  determine 
his  career.  He  seemed  always  ready  to  do  battle  for 
the  Cross.  He  affected  to  identify  the  cause  of  Spain 
with  the  cause  of  Christendom.  He  marched  against 
the  Turks,  and  stayed  the  tide  of  Ottoman  inroad  in 
Hungary.  He  marched  against  the  Protestants,  and 
discomfited  their  armies  in  the  heart  of  Germany.  He 
crossed  the  Mediterranean,  and  humbled  the  Crescent 
at  Algiers.  He  threw  himself  on  the  honor  of  Francis, 
and  travelled  through  France  to  take  vengeance  on  the 
rebels  of  Flanders.  He  twice  entered  France  as  an 
enemy  and  marched  up  to  the  gates  of  Paris.  Instead 


316     LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH. 

of  the  modest  legend  on  his  maiden  shield,  he  now 
assumed  the  proud  motto,  "Plus  ultra;"  and  he  vin 
dicated  his  right  to  it  by  sending  his  fleets  across  the 
ocean  and  by  planting  the  banner  of  Castile  on  the 
distant  shores  of  the  Pacific.  In  these  enterprises  he 
was  generally  successful.  His  success  led  him  to  rely 
still  more  on  himself.  "  Myself,  and  the  lucky  mo 
ment,"  was  his  favorite  saying.  The  "star  of  Austria" 
was  still  a  proverb.  It  was  not  till  the  evening  of  life 
that  he  complained  of  the  fickleness  of  fortune, — that 
his  star,  as  it  descended  to  the  horizon,  was  obscured 
by  clouds  and  darkness. 

Thus  Charles's  nerves  were  kept  in  a  state  of  per 
petual  excitement.  No  wonder  that  his  health  should 
have  sunk  under  it,  like  a  plant  forced  by  extraordinary 
stimulants  to  an  unnatural  production  at  the  expense 
of  its  own  vitality. 

His  habits  were  not  all  of  them  the  most  conducive 
to  health.  He  slept  usually  only  four  hours  ;  too  short 
a  time  to  repair  the  waste  caused  by  incessant  toil.69 
His  phlegmatic  temperament  did  not  incline  him  to 
excess.  Yet  there  was  one  excess  of  which  he  was 
guilty, — the  indulgence  of  his  appetite  to  a  degree 
most  pernicious  to  his  health.  A  Venetian  contempo 
rary  tells  us  that,  before  rising  in  the  morning,  potted 
capon  was  usually  served  to  him,  dressed  with  sugar, 
milk,  and  spices.  At  noon  he  dined  on  a  variety  of 

69  See  Brndford,  Correspondence  of  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth 
and  his  Ambassadors  at  the  Courts  of  England  and  France,  with  a 
Connecting  Narrative  and  Biographical  Notices  of  the  Emperor  (Lon 
don,  1850),  p.  367, — a  work  which  contains  some  interesting  par 
ticulars,  little  known,  respecting  Charles  the  Fifth. 


HIS  DEATH  AND   CHARACTER.  317 

dishes.  Soon  after  vespers  he  took  another  meal,  and 
later  in  the  evening  supped  heartily  on  anchovies,  or 
some  other  gross  and  savory  food  of  which  he  was 
particularly  fond.70  On  one  occasion  complaining  to 
his  maitre-d 'hotel  that  the  cook  sent  him  nothing  but 
dishes  too  insipid  and  tasteless  to  be  eaten,  the  per 
plexed  functionary,  knowing  Charles's  passion  for  time 
pieces,  replied  that  "he  did  not  know  what  he  could 
do,  unless  it  were  to  serve  his  majesty  a  ragout  of 
watches!"  The  witticism  had  one  good  effect,  that  of 
provoking  a  hearty  laugh  from  the  emperor, — a  thing 
rarely  witnessed  in  his  latter  days.7* 

It  was  in  vain  that  Cardinal  Loaysa,  his  confessor, 
remonstrated,  with  an  independence  that  does  him 
credit,  against  his  master's  indulgence  of  his  appetite, 
assuring  him  that  resistance  here  would  do  more  for  his 
soul  than  any  penance  with  the  scourge.72  It  seems  a 

70  "  Nel  mangiare  ha  S.  Maesta  sempre  eccesso.  .  .  .  La  mattina 
svegliata   ella  pigliava  una  scodella   di  pesto   cappone    con    latte, 
zucchero  et  spezierie,  popoi  il  quale  tornava  a  riposare.     A  mezzo 
giorno  desinava  molte  varieta  di  vivande,  et  poco  da  poi  vespro  me*- 
rendava,  et  all'  hora  di  notte  se  n'  andava  alia  cena  mangiando  cose 
tutte  da  generare  humori  grossi  et  viscosi."     Badovaro,  Notizie  delli 
Stati  et  Corti  di  Carlo  Quinto  Imperatore  et  del  Re  Cattolico,  MS. 

71  "  Disse  una  volta  al  Maggiordomo  Monfalconetto  con  sdegno, 
ch'  aveva  corrotto  il  giudicio  a  dare  ordine  a'  cuochi,  perche  tutti  i 
cibi  erano  insipidi,  dal  quale  le  fu  risposto :    Non  so  come  dovere 
trovare  piu  modi  da  compiacere  alia  maesta  V.  se  io  non  fo  prova 
di  farle  una  nuova  vivanda  di  pottaggio  di  rogoli,  il  che  la  mosse 
a  quel  maggiore  et  piu  lungo  riso  che  sia  mai  stato  veduto  in  lei." 
Ibid. 

72  Briefe  an  Kaiser  Karl  V.,  geschrieben  von  seinem  Beichtvater 
(Berlin,  1848),  p.   159  et  al. — These  letters  of  Charles's  confessor, 
which  afford  some  curious  particulars  for  the  illustration  of  the  early 
period  of  his  history,  are  preserved  in  the  Archives  of  Simancas. 

27* 


318      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

pity  that  Charles,  considering  his  propensities,  should 
have  so  easily  obtained  absolution  from  fasts,  and  that 
he  should  not,  on  the  contrary,  have  transferred  some 
of  the  penance  which  he  inflicted  on  his  back  to  the 
offending  part.  Even  in  the  monastery  of  Yuste  he 
still  persevered  in  the  same  pernicious  taste.  Ancho 
vies,  frogs'  legs,  and  eel-pasties  were  the  dainty  morsels 
with  which  he  chose  to  be  regaled,  even  before  the  . 
eyes  of  his  physician.  It  would  not  have  been  amiss 
for  him  to  have  exchanged  his  solitary  repast  more 
frequently  for  the  simpler  fare  of  the  refectory. 

With  these  coarser  tastes  Charles  combined  many 
others  of  a  refined  and  intellectual  character.  We 
have  seen  his  fondness  for  music,  and  the  delight  he 
took  in  the  sister  art  of  design, — especially  in  the 
works  of  Titian.  He  was  painted  several  times  by  this 
great  master,  and  it  was  by  his  hand,  as  we  have  seen, 
that  he  desired  to  go  down  to  posterity.  The  emperor 
had,  moreover,  another  taste,  perhaps  talent,  which, 
with  a  different  training  and  in  a  different  sphere  of 
life,  might  have  led  him  to  the  craft  of  authorship. 

A  curious  conversation  is  reported  as  having  been 
held  by  him  with  Borja,  the  future  saint,  during  one 
of  the  visits  paid  by  the  Jesuit  to  Yuste.  Charles 
inquired  of  his  friend  whether  it  were  wrong  for  a  man 
to  write  his  autobiography,  provided  he  did  so  honestly 
and  with  no  motive  of  vanity.  He  said  that  he  had 
written  his  own  memoirs,  not  from  the  desire  of  self- 
glorification,  but  to  correct  manifold  mistakes  which 
had  been  circulated  of  his  doings,  and  to  set  his  con- 

The  edition  above  referred  to  contains  the  original  Castilian,  accom 
panied  by  a  German  translation. 


HIS  DEATH  AND   CHARACTER.  319 

duct  in  a  true  light.73  One  might  be  curious  to  know 
the  answer,  which  is  not  given,  of  the  good  father  to 
this  question.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  was  not  of  a 
kind  to  induce  the  emperor  to  destroy  the  manuscript, 
which  has  never  come  to  light. 

However  this  may  be,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  at  one  period  of  his  life  he  had  compiled  a  portion 
of  his  autobiography.  In  the  imperial  household,  as  I 
have  already  noticed,  was  a  Flemish  scholar,  William 
Van  Male,  or  Malinaeus,  as  he  is  called  in  Latin,  who, 
under  the  title  of  gentleman  of  the  chamber,  wrote 
many  a  long  letter  for  Charles,  while  standing  by  his 
bedside,  and  read  many  a  weary  hour  to  him  after  the 
monarch  had  gone  to  rest, — not,  as  it  would  seem,  to 
sleep.74  This  personage  tells  us  that  Charles,  when 
sailing  on  the  Rhine,  wrote  an  account  of  his  expe 
ditions  to  as  late  a  date  as  1550. 7S  This  is  not  very 
definite.  Any  account  written  under  such  circum 
stances  and  in  so  short  a  time  could  be  nothing  but 
a  sketch  of  the  most  general  kind.  Yet  Van  Male 
assures  us  that  he  had  read  the  manuscript,  which  he 

73  "  Si  hallais,"  said  the  royal  author,  with  a  degree  of  humility 
rarely  found  in  brethren  of  the  craft,  "  que  alguna  vanidad  secreta 
puede  mover  la  pluma  (que  siempre  es  prodigioso  Panegerista  en 
causa  propria),  la  arrojare  de  la  mano  al  punto,  para  dar  al  viento  lo 
que  es  del  viento. "•     Cienfuegos,  Vida  de  Borja,  p.  269. 

74  "  Factus  est  anagnostes  insatiabilis,  audit  legentem-  me  singulis 
noctibus  facta  ccenula  sua,  mox  librum  repeti  jubet,  si  forte  ipsum 
torquet  insomnia."     Lettres  sur  la  Vie  interieure  de  Charles-Quint, 
ecrites  par  G.  Van  Male,  ep.  7. 

75  "  Scripsi  .  .  .  liberalissimas  ejus  occupationes  in  navigatione  flu- 
minis  Rheni,  dum  ocii  occasione  invitatus,  scriberet  in  navi  peregri- 
nationes  et  expeditiones  quas  ab  anno  XV.  in  prsesentem  usque  diem, 
suscepisset."     Ibid.,  ep.  5. 


320     LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

commends  for  its  terse  and  elegant  diction ;  and  he  pro 
poses  to  make  a  Latin  version  of  it,  the  style  of  which 
should  combine  the  separate  merits  of  Tacitus,  Livy, 
Suetonius,  and  Caesar ! j6  The  admiring  chamberlain 
laments  that,  instead  of  giving  it  to  the  world,  Charles 
should  keep  it  jealously  secured  under  lock  and  key.77 

The  emperor's  taste  for  authorship  showed  itself  also 
in  another  form.  This  was  by  the  translation  of  the 
"  Chevalier  Delibere"  a  French  poem  then  popular, 
celebrating  the  court  of  his  ancestor,  Charles  the  Bold 

76  "  Statui  novum  quoddam  scribendi  temperatum  effingere,  mixtum 
ex  Livio,  Caesare,  Suetonio,  et  Tacito."     Lettres  sur  la  Vie  inierieure 
de  Charles-Quint,  ep.  5. 

77  At  the  emperor's  death,  these  Memoirs  were  in  possession  of  Van 
Male,  who  afterwards  used  to  complain,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that 
Quixada  had  taken  them  away  from  him.      But  he   remembered 
enough  of  their  contents,  he  said,  to  make  out  another  life  of  his 
master,  which  he  intended  to  do.     (Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn. 
vi.  p.  29.)     Philip,  thinking  that  Van  Male  might  have  carried  his 
intention  into  execution,  ordered  Granvelle  to  hunt  among  his  papers, 
after  the  poor  gentleman's  death,  and  if  he  found  any  such  MS.  to 
send  it  to  him,  that  he  might  throw  it  into  the  fire!     (Ibid.,  p.  273.) 
Philip,  in  his  tenderness  for  his  father's  memory,  may  have  thought 
that  no  man  could  be  a  hero  to  his   own  valet-de-chambre.     On 
searching,  however,  no  memoirs  were  found.* 


*  [The  "  Memoirs"  have  since  been  brought  to  light,  a  Portuguese 
translation,  professing  to  have  been  made  "  from  the  French,  and  from 
the  original,  at  Madrid,  in  1620,"  having  been  discovered  among  the 
MSS.  of  the  Imperial  Library  at  Paris,  by  the  Baron  Kervyn  de 
Lettenhove.  An  unfinished  prefatory  note  from  Charles  to  his  son 
Philip,  dated  Innsbruck,  1552,  mentions  that  the  work  was  written — as 
stated  by  Van  Male — during  journeys  on  the  Rhine,  and  that  it  was 
finished  at  Augsburg.  It  covers  the  period  from  1516  to  1548 ;  but 
the  contents,  though  not  devoid  of  interest,  throw  little  or  no  light  on 
the  events  of  that  period.  An  English  translation  appeared  in  1862. 
-ED.] 


HIS  DEATH  AND    CHARACTER. 


321 


jf  Burgundy.  Van  Male,  who  seems  to  have  done  for 
Charles  the  Fifth  what  Voltaire  did  for  Frederick  when 
he  spoke  of  himself  as  washing  the  king's  dirty  linen, 
was  employed  also  to  overlook  this  translation,  which 
he  pronounces  to  have  possessed  great  merit  in  regard 
to  idiom  and  selection  of  language.  The  emperor 
then  gave  it  to  Acufia,  a  good  poet  of  the  court,  to  be 
done  into  Castilian  verse.  Thus  metamorphosed,  he 
proposed  to  give  the  copy  to  Van  Male.  A  mischievous 
wag,  Avila  the  historian,  assured  the  emperor  that  it 
could  not  be  worth  less  than  five  hundred  gold  crowns 
to  that  functionary.  "And  William  is  well  entitled  to 
them,"  said  the  monarch,  "for  he  has  sweat  much  over 
the  work."78  Two  thousand  copies  were  forthwith 
ordered  to  be  printed  of  the  poem,  which  was  to  come 
out  anonymously.  Poor  Van  Male,  who  took  a  very 
different  view  of  the  profits,  and  thought  that  nothing 
was  certain  but  the  cost  of  the  edition,  would  have 
excused  himself  from  this  proof  of  his  master's  liber 
ality.  It  was  all  in  vain  ;  Charles  was  not  to  be  balked 
in  his  generous  purpose  ;  and,  without  a  line  to  pro 
pitiate  the  public  favor  by  stating  in  the  preface  the 
share  of  the  royal  hand  in  the  composition,  it  was 
ushered  into  the  world.79 

78  "  Bono  jure,  ait,  fructus  ille  ad  Gulielmum  redeat,  ut  qui  pluri- 
mum  in  opere  illo  sudarit."     Lettres  sur  la  Vie  interieure  de  Charles- 
Quint,  ep.  6. 

79  "  Ne  in  proemio  quidem  passus  est  ullam  solertiae  SUDS  laudem 
adscribi."     Ibid. — Van  Male's  Latin  correspondence,  from  which  this 
amusing  incident  is  taken,  was  first  published  by  the  Baron  Reiffen- 
berg  for  the  society  of  Bibliophiles  Belgiques,  at  Brussels,  in  1843.    It 
contains   some   interesting   notices  of  Charles   the    Fifth's   personal 
habits  during  the  five  years  preceding  his  abdication.     Van  Male 

O* 


322      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

Whatever  Charles  may  have  done  in  the  way  of 
an  autobiography,  he  was  certainly  not  indifferent  to 
posthumous  fame.  He  knew  that  the  greatest  name 
must  soon  pass  into  oblivion,  unless  embalmed  in  the 
song  of  the  bard  or  the  page  of  the  chronicler.  He 
looked  for  a  chronicler  to  do  for  him  with  his  pen 
what  Titian  had  done  for  him  with  his  pencil, — exhibit 
him  in  his  true  proportions,  and  in  a  permanent  form, 
to  the  eye  of  posterity.  In  this  he  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  so  much  under  the  influence  of  vanity  as  of  a 
natural  desire  to  have  his  character  and  conduct  placed 
in  a  fair  point  of  view — what  seemed  to  him  to  be 
such — for  the  contemplation  or  criticism  of  mankind. 

The  person  whom  the  emperor  selected  for  this 
delicate  office  was  the  learned  Sepulveda.  Sleidan  he 
condemned  as  a  slanderer;  and  Giovio,  who  had  taken 
the  other  extreme  and  written  of  him  with  what  he 
called  the  "golden  pen"  of  history,  he  no  less  con 
demned  as  a  flatterer.80  Charles  encouraged  Sepulveda 

accompanied  his  master  in*o  his  retirement ;  and  his  name  appears 
in  the  codicil  among  those  of  the  household  who  received  pensions 
from  the  emperor.  This  doubtless  stood  him  in  more  stead  than  his 
majesty's  translation,  which,  although  it  passed  throtigh  several  editions 
in  the  course  of  the  century,  probably  put  little  money  into  the 
pocket  of  the  chamberlain,  who  died  in  less  than  two"  years  after  his 
master. — A  limited  edition  only  of  Van  Male's  correspondence  was 
printed,  for  the  benefit  of  the  members  of  the  association.  For  the 
copy  used  by  me  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Van  de  Weyer,  the  accom 
plished  Belgian  minister  at  the  English  court,  whose  love  of  letters  is 
shown  not  more  by  the  library  he  has  formed — one  of  the  noblest 
private  collections  in  Europe — than  by  the  liberality  with  which  he 
accords  the  use  of  it  to  the  student. 

80  Paulo  Giovio  got  so  little  in  return  for  his  honeyed  words  that 
his   eyes  were  opened  to  a  new  trait  in  the   character  of  Charles, 


MEMOIRS    OF  CHARLES  323 

to  apply  to  him  for  information  on  matters  relating  to 
his  government.  But  when  requested  by  the  historian 
to  listen  .to  what  he  had  written,  the  emperor  refused. 
"I  will  neither  hear  nor  read,"  he  replied,  "  what  you 
have  said  of  me.  Others  may  do  this  when  I  am  gone. 
But  if  you  wish  for  any  information  on  any  point.  I 
shall  be  always  ready  to  give  it  to  you."81  A  history 
thus  compiled  was  of  the  nature  of  an  autobiography, 
and  must  be*considered,  therefore,  as  entitled  to  much 
the  same  confidence,  and  open  to  the  same  objections, 
as  that  kind  of  writing.  Sepulveda  was  one  of  the  few 
who  had  repeated  access  to  Charles  in  his  retirement  at 
Yuste;82  and  the  monarch  testified  his  regard  for  him 
by  directing  that  particular  care  be  taken  that  no  harm 
should  come  to  the  historian's  manuscript  before  it  was 
committed  to  the  press.83 

Such  are  some  of  the  most  interesting  traits  and 
personal  anecdotes  I  have  been  able  to  collect  of  the 
man  who  for  nearly  forty  years  ruled  over  an  empire 
more  vast,  with  an  authority  more  absolute,  than  any 
monarch  since  the  days  of  Charlemagne.  It  may  be 
thought  strange  that  I  should  have  omitted  to  notice 
one  feature  in  his  character,  the  most  prominent  in 

whom  he  afterwards  stigmatized  as  parsimonious.  See  Sepulveda,  De 
Rebus  gestis  Caroli  V.,  lib.  xxx.  p.  534. 

81  "  Haud  mihi  gratum  est  legere  vel  audire  quas  de  me  scribuntur; 
legent  alii  cum  ipse  a  vita  discessero ;  tu  siquid  ex  me  scire  cupis, 
percunctare,  nee  enim  respondere  gravabor."     Ibid.,  p.  533. 

82  Charles,  however  willing  he  might  be  to  receive  those  strangers 
who  brought  him  news  from  foreign  parts,  was  not  very  tolerant,  as 
the  historian  tells  us,  of  visits  of  idle  ceremony.     Ibid.,  p.  541. 

83  Carta  del  Emperador  al  Secretario  Vazquez,  9  de  Julio,  1558, 
MS. 


324 


LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 


the  line  from  which  he  was  descended,,  at  least  on  the 
mother's  side, — his  bigotry.  But  in  Charles  this  was 
less  conspicuous  than  in  many  others  of  his  house ; 
and  while  he  sat  upon  the  throne,  the  extent  to  which 
his  religious  principles  were  held  in  subordination  by 
his  political  suggests  a  much  closer  parallel  to  the 
policy  of  his  grandfather,  Ferdinand  the  Catholic, 
than  to  that  of  his  son,  Philip  the  Second,  or  of  his 
imbecile  grandson,  Philip  the  Third. 

But  the  religious  gloom  which  hung  over  Charles's 
mind  took  the  deeper  tinge  of  fanaticism  after  he  had 
withdrawn  to  the  monastery  of  Yuste.  With  his  dying 
words,  as  we  have  seen,  he  bequeathed  the  Inquisition 
as  a  precious  legacy  to  his  son.  In  like  manner,  he 
endeavored  to  cherish  in  the  Regent  Joanna's  bosom 
the  spirit  of  persecution.84  And  if  it  be  true,  as  his 
biographer  assures  us,  that  Charles  expressed  a  regret 
that  he  had  respected  the  safe-conduct  of  Luther,85  the 
world  had  little  reason  to  mourn  that  he  exchanged  the 
sword  and  the  sceptre  for  the  breviary  of  the  friar, — 
the  throne  of  the  Caesars  for  his  monastic  retreat  among 
the  wilds  of  Estremadura. 

e*  "  Si  me  hallara  con  facias  y  dispusicion  de  podello  hacer  tam- 
bien  procurara  de  enfo^arme  en  este  caso  a  tomar  cualquier  trabajo 
para  procurar  por  mi  parte  el  remedio  y  castigo  de  lo  sobre  dicho  sin 
embargo  de  los  que  por  ello  he  padescido."  Carta  del  Emperador  a 
la  Princesa,  3  de  Mayo,  1558,  MS. 

ss  "  Y6  erre  en  no  matar  a  Luthero,  .  .  .  porque  yo  no  era  obligado 
&  guardalle  la  palabra  por  ser  la  culpa  del  hereje  contra  otro  mayor 
Senor,  que  era  Dios."  Sandoval,  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.,  torn.  ii.  p.  613. 
— See  also  Vera  y  Figueroa,  Carlos  Quinto,  p.  124. 


The  preceding  chapter  was  written  in  the  summer  of  1851,  a  year 
before  the  appearance  of  Stirling's  "Cloister  Life  of  Charles  the 


MEMOIRS   OF  CHARLES.  325 

Fifth,"  which  led  the  way  in  that  brilliant  series  of  works  from  the 
pens  of  Amedee  Pichot,  Mignet,  and  Gachard,  which  has  made  the 
darkest  recesses  of  Yuste  as  light  as  day.  The  publication  of  these 
works  has  deprived  my  account  of  whatever  novelty  it  might  have 
possessed,  since  it  rests  on  a  similar  basis  with  theirs,  namely,  original 
documents  in  the  Archives  of  Simancas.  Yet  the  important  influence 
which  Charles  exerted  over  the  management  of  affairs,  even  in  his 
monastic  retreat,  has  made  it  impossible  to  dispense  with  the  chapter. 
On  the  contrary,  I  have  profited  by  these  recent  publications  to  make 
sundry  additions,  which  may  readily  be  discovered  by  the  reader, 
from  the  references  I  have  been  careful  to  make  to  the  sources  whence 
they  are  derived. 

The  public  has  been  hitherto  indebted  for  its  knowledge  of  the 
reign  of  Charles  the  Fifth  to  Robertson, — a  writer  who,  combining  a 
truly  philosophical  spirit  with  an  acute  perception  of  character,  is 
recommended,  moreover,  by  a  classic  elegance  of  style  which  has 
justly  given  him  a  pre-eminence  among  the  historians  of  the  great 
emperor.  But  in  his  account  of  the  latter  days  of  Charles,  Robertson 
mainly  relies  on  commonplace  authorities,  whose  information,  gathered 
at  second  hand,  is  far  from  being  trustworthy, — as  is  proved  by  the 
contradictory  tenor  of  such  authentic  documents  as  the  letters  of 
Charles  himself,  with  those  of  his  own  followers,  and  the  narratives 
of  the  brotherhood  of  Yuste.  These  documents  are,  for  the  most 
part,  to  be  found  in  the  Archives  of  Simancas,  where,  in  Robertson's 
time,  they  were  guarded,  with  the  vigilance  of  a  Turkish  harem, 
against  all  intrusion  of  native  as  well  as  foreigner.  It  was  not  until 
very  recently,  in  1844,  that  the  more  liberal  disposition  of  the  govern 
ment  allowed  the  gates  to  be  unbarred  which  had  been  closed  for 
centuries;  and  then  for  the  first  time  the  student  might  be  seen  toiling 
in  the  dusty  alcoves  of  Simancas  and  busily  exploring  the  long-buried 
memorials  of  the  past.  It  was  at  this  period  that  my  friend  Don 
Pascual  de  Gayangos,  having  obtained  authority  from  the  govern 
ment,  passed  some  weeks  at  Simancas  in  collecting  materials,  some 
of  which  have  formed  the  groundwork  of  the  preceding  chapter. 

While  the  manuscripts  of  Simancas  were  thus  hidden  from  the 
world,  a  learned  keeper  of  the  archives,  Don  Tomas  Gonzalez,  dis 
contented  with  the  unworthy  view  which  had  been  given  of  the  latter 
days  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  had  profited  by  the  materials  which  lay 
around  him,  to  exhibit  his  life  at  Yuste  in  a  new  and  more  authentic 
light.  To  the  volume  which  he  compiled  for  this  purpose  he  gave  the 
Philip.— VOL.  I.  28 


326      LATTER  DAYS   OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

title  of  "JRetiro,  Estancia,  y  Muerte  del  Emperador  Carlos  Quinto  en 
el  Monasterio  de  Yuste."  The  work,  the  principal  value  of  which 
consists  in  the  copious  extracts  with  which  it  is  furnished  from  the 
correspondence  of  Charles  and  his  household,  was  suffered  by  the 
author  to  remain  in  manuscript ;  and  at  his  death  it  passed  into  the 
hands  of  his  brother,  who  prepared  a  summary  of  its  contents,  and 
endeavored  to  dispose  of  the  volume  at  a  price  so  exorbitant  that  it 
remained  for  many  years  without  a  purchaser.  It  was  finally  bought 
by  the  French  government  at  a  greatly  reduced  price, — for  four  thou 
sand  francs.  It  may  seem  strange  that  it  should  have  even  brought 
this  sum,  since  the  time  of  the  sale  was  that  in  which  the  new  arrange 
ments  were  made  for  giving  admission  to  the  archives  that  contained 
the  original  documents  on  which  the  Gonzalez  MS.  was  founded. 
The  work  thus  bought  by  the  French  government  was  transferred  to 
the  Archives  des  Affaires  Etrangeres,  then  under  the  direction  of  M. 
Mignet.  The  manuscript  could  not  be  in  better  hands  than  those  of 
a  scholar  who  has  so  successfully  carried  the  torch  of  criticism  into 
some  of  the  darkest  passages  of  Spanish  history.  His  occupations, 
however,  took  him  in  another  direction ;  and  for  eight  years  the  Gon 
zalez  MS.  remained  as  completely  hidden  from  the  world  in  the  Pa 
risian  archives  as  it  had  been  in  those  of  Simancas.  When  at  length 
it  was  applied  to  the  historical  uses  for  which  it  had  been  intended,  it 
was  through  the  agency,  not  of  a  French,  but  of  a  British  writer.  This 
was  Mr.  Stirling,  the  author  of  the  "Annals  of  the  Artists  of  Spain," — 
a  work  honorable  to  its  author  for  the  familiarity  it  shows  not  only  with 
the  state  of  the  arts  in  that  country,  but  also  with  its  literature. 

Mr.  Stirling,  during  a  visit  to  the  Peninsula,  in  1849,  made  a  pil 
grimage  to  Yuste;  and  the  traditions  and  hoary  reminiscences  gath 
ered  round  the  spot  left  such  an  impression  on  the  traveller's  mind 
that  on  his  return  to  England  he  made  them  the  subject  of  two 
elaborate  papers  in  Fraser's  Magazine,  in  the  numbers  for  April  and 
May,  1851.  Although  these  spirited  essays  rested  wholly  on  printed 
works,  which  had  long  been  accessible  to  the  scholar,  they  were 
found  to  contain  many  new  and  highly  interesting  details ;  showing 
how  superficially  Mr.  Stirling's  predecessors  had  examined  the 
records  of  the  emperor's  residence  at  Yuste.  Still,  in  his  account 
the  author  had  omitted  the  most  important  feature  of  Charles's 
monastic  life, — the  influence  which  he  exercised  on  the  administra 
tion  of  the  kingdom.  This  was  to  be  gathered  from  the  manuscripts 
of  Simancas. 


MEMOIRS   OF  CHARLES. 


327 


Mr.  Stirling,  who  through  that  inexhaustible  repository,  the  Hand 
book  of  Spain,  had  become  acquainted  with  the  existence  of  the  Gon 
zalez  MS.,  was,  at  the  time  of  writing  his  essays,  ignorant  of  its  fate. 
On  learning,  afterwards,  where  it  was  to  be  found,  he  visited  Paris, 
and,  having  obtained  access  to  the  volume,  so  far  profited  by  its  con 
tents  as  to  make  them  the  basis  of  a  separate  work,  which  he  entitled 
"The  Cloister  Life  of  Charles  the  Fifth."  It  soon  attracted  the 
attention  of  scholars,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  went  through  several 
editions,  and  was  received,  in  short,  with  an  avidity  which  showed 
both  the  importance  attached  to  the  developments  the  author  had 
made,  and  the  attractive  form  in  which  he  had  presented  them  to  the 
reader. 

The  Parisian  scholars  were  now  stimulated  to  turn  to  account  the 
treasure  which  had  remained  so  long  neglected  on  their  shelves.  In 
1854,  less  than  two  years  after  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Stirling's  book, 
M.  Amedee  Pichot  published  his  "Chronique  de  Charles- Quint''  a 
work  which,  far  from  being  confined  to  the  latter  days  of  the  emperor, 
covers  the  whole  range  of  his  biography,  presenting  a  large  amount 
of  information  in  regard  to  his  personal  habits,  as  well  as  to  the  in 
terior  organization  of  his  government  and  the  policy  which  directed 
it.  The  whole  is  enriched,  moreover,  by  a  multitude  of  historical  in 
cidents,  which  may  be  regarded  rather  as  subsidiary  than  essential  to 
the  conduct  of  the  narrative,  which  is  enlivened  by  much  ingenious 
criticism  on  the  state  of  manners,  arts,  and  moral  culture  of  the 
period. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  appearance  of  this  work  that  M.  Gachard, 
whom  I  have  elsewhere  noticed  as  having  been  commissioned  by  the 
Belgian  government  to  make  extensive  researches  in  the  Archives  of 
Simancas,  gave  to  the  public  some  of  the  fruits  of  his  labors,  in  the 
first  volume  of  his  " Retraite  et  Mort  de  Charles- Quint."  It  is  devoted 
to  the  letters  of  the  emperor  and  his  household,  which  forms  the  staple 
of  the  Gonzalez  MS. ;  thus  placing  at  the  disposition  of  the  future 
biographer  of  Charles  the  original  materials  with  which  to  reconstruct 
the  history  of  his  latter  days. 

Lastly  came  the  work,  long  expected,  of  M.  Mignet,  "  Charles- 
Quint  ;  son  Abdication,  son  Sejour,  et  sa  Mort  au  Monastere  de 
Ynste."  It  was  the  reproduction,  in  a  more  extended  and  elaborate 
form,  of  a  series  of  papers,  the  first  of  which  appeared  shortly  after 
the  publication  of  Mr.  Stirling's  book.  In  this  work  the  French 
author  takes  the  clear  and  comprehensive  view  of  his  subject  so 


328      LATTER  DAYS  OF  CHARLES   THE  FIFTH. 

characteristic  of  his  genius.  The  difficult  and  debatable  points  he 
discusses  with  acuteness  and  precision ;  and  the  whole  story  of 
Charles's  monastic  life  he  presents  in  so  luminous  an  aspect  to  the 
reader  as  leaves  nothing  further  to  be  desired. 

The  critic  may  take  some  interest  in  comparing  the  different  man 
ners  in  which  the  several  writers  have  dealt  with  the  subject,  each 
according  to  his  own  taste  or  the  bent  of  his  genius.  Thus,  through 
Stirling's  more  free  and  familiar  narrative  there  runs  a  pleasant  vein 
of  humor,  with  piquancy  enough  to  give  it  a  relish,  showing  the 
author's  sensibility  to  the  ludicrous,  for  which  Charles's  stingy  habits 
and  excessive  love  of  good  cheer,  even  in  the  convent,  furnish  fre 
quent  occasion. 

Quite  a  different  conception  is  formed  by  Mignet  of  the  emperor's 
character,  which  he  has  cast  in  the  true  heroic  mould,  not  deigning  to 
recognize  a  single  defect,  however  slight,  which  may  at  all  impair  the 
majesty  of  the  proportions.  Finally,  Amedee  Pichot,  instead  of  the 
classical,  may  be  said  to  have  conformed  to  the  romantic  school  in  the 
arrangement  of  his  subject,  indulging  in  various  picturesque  episodes, 
which  he  has,  however,  combined  so  successfully  with  the  main  body 
of  the  narrative  as  not  to  impair  the  unity  of  interest. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  comparative  merits  of  these  emi 
nent  writers  in  the  execution  of  their  task,  the  effect  of  their  labors 
has  undoubtedly  been  to  make  that  the  plainest  which  was  before  the 
most  obscure  portion  of  the  history  of  Charles  the  Fifth. 


BOOK    II. 
CHAPTER    I. 

VIEW   OF   THE    NETHERLANDS. 

Civil  Institutions.— Commercial  Prosperity.— Character  of  the  People. 
— Protestant  Doctrines. — Persecution  by  Charles  the  Fifth. 

WE  have  now  come  to  that  portion  of  the  narrative 
which  seems  to  be  rather  in  the  nature  of  an  episode 
than  part  and  parcel  of  our  history;  though  from 
its  magnitude  and  importance  it  is  better  entitled  to 
be  treated  as  an  independent  history  by  itself.  This 
is  the  War  of  the  Netherlands ;  opening  the  way  to 
that  great  series  of  revolutions,  the  most  splendid 
example  of  which  is  furnished  by  our  own  happy  land. 
Before  entering  on  this  vast  theme,  it  will  be  well  to 
give  a  brief  view  of  the  country  which  forms  the  sub 
ject  of  it. 

At  the  accession  of  Philip  the  Second,  about  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Netherlands,  or 
Flanders,  as  the  country  was  then  usually  called,1 

1  "  Vocatur  quoque  synechdochice,  per  universam  ferme  Europam, 
Flandria,  idque  ob  ejus  Provincioe  potentiam  atque  splendorem: 
quamvis  sint,  qui  contcndant,  vocabulum  ipsum  Flandria,  a  frequent! 
exterorum  in  ea  quondam  Provincia  mercatorum  commercio,  deriva- 
tum,  atque  inde  in  omnes  partes  diffusum ;  alii  rursus,  quod  haec  ipsa 
28*  (329) 


330  VIEW  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

comprehended  seventeen  provinces,  occupying  much 
the  same  territory,  but  somewhat  abridged,  with  that 
included  in  the  present  kingdoms  of  Holland  and  Bel 
gium.9  These  provinces,  under  the  various  denom 
inations  of  duchies,  counties,  and  lordships,  formed 
anciently  so  many  separate  states,  each  under  the  rule 
of  its  respective  prince.  Even  when  two  or  three  of 
them,  as  sometimes  happened,  were  brought  together 
under  one  sceptre,  each  still  maintained  its  own  inde 
pendent  existence.  In  their  institutions  these  states 
bore  great  resemblance  to  one  another,  and  especially 
in  the  extent  of  the  immunities  conceded  to  the  citizens 
as  compared  with  those  enjoyed  in  most  of  the  countries 
of  Christendom.  No  tax  could  be  imposed  without  the 
consent  of  an  assembly  consisting  of  the  clergy,  the 
nobles,  and  the  representatives  of  the  towns.  No 
foreigner  was  eligible  to  office,  and  the  native  of  one 
province  was  regarded  as  a  foreigner  by  every  other. 
These  were  insisted  on  as  inalienable  rights,  although 
in  later  times  none  were  more  frequently  disregarded 
by  the  rulers.3 

Flandria,  strictius  sumta,  Gallis,  Anglis,  Hispanis,  atque  Italis  sit 
vicinior,  ideoque  et  notior  simul  et  celebrior,  totam  Belgiam  eo  nomine 
indigitatam  perhibent."  Guicciardini,  Belgicae,  sive  Inferioris  Ger- 
maniae  Descriptio  (Amstelodami,  1652),  p.  6. 

2  These  provinces  were  the  duchies  of  Brabant,  Limburg,  Luxem 
bourg,  and  Gueldres;    the  counties  of  Artois,   Hainault,    Flanders, 
Namur,  Zutphen,  Holland,  and  Zealand;    the  margraviate  of  Ant 
werp  ;  and  the  lordships  of  Friesland,  Mechlin,  Utrecht,  Overyssel, 
and  Groningen. 

3  Basnage,  Annales  des  Provinces-Unies,  avec  la  Description  his- 
torique   de   leur  Gouvernement   (La   Haye,  1719),  torn.  i.  p.  3. — 
Guicciardini,  Belgicae  Descriptio,  p.  81,  et  seq. — The  Venetian  minis 
ter  Tiepolo  warmly  commends  the  loyalty  of  these  people  to  their 


THEIR    CIVIL   INSTITUTIONS. 


331 


The  condition  of  the  commons  in  the  Netherlands 
during  the  Middle  Ages  was  far  in  advance  of  what  it 
was  in  most  other  European  countries  at  the  same 
period.  For  this  they  were  indebted  to  the  character 
of  the  people,  or  rather  to  the  peculiar  circumstances 
which  formed  that  character.  Occupying  a  soil  which 
had  been  redeemed  with  infinite  toil  and  perseverance 
from  the  waters,  their  life  was  passed  in  perpetual 
struggle  with  the  elements.  They  were  early  familiar 
ized  to  the  dangers  of  the  ocean.  The  Flemish  mariner 
was  distinguished  for  the  intrepid  spirit  with  which  he 
pushed  his  voyages  into  distant  and  unknown  seas.  An 
extended  commerce  opened  to  him  a  wide  range  of 
observation  and  experience  ;  and  to  the  bold  and  hardy 
character  of  the  ancient  Netherlander  was  added  a 
spirit  of  enterprise,  with  such  enlarged  and  liberal 
views  as  fitted  him  for  taking  part  in  the  great  concerns 
of  the  community.  Villages  and  towns  grew  up  rapidly. 
Wealth  flowed  in  from  this  commercial  activity,  and 
the  assistance  which  these  little  communities  were  thus 
enabled  to  afford  their  princes  drew  from  the  latter 
the  concession  of  important  political  privileges,  which 
established  the  independence  of  the  citizen. 

The  tendency  of  things,  however,  was  still  to  main- 
princes,  not  to  be  shaken  so  long  as  their  constitutional  privileges 
were  respected:  "  Sempre  si  le  sono  mostrati  quei  Popoli  molto 
affettionati  et  amorevoli,  contentandosi  de  esser  gravati  senza  che  mai 
facesse  alcun  resentimento  forte  piu  de  1'honesto.  Ma  cosi  come  in 
questa  parte  sempre  hanno  mostrato  la  sua  prontezza  cosi  sono  stati 
duri  et  difficili,  che  ponto  le  fossero  sminuiti  li  loro  privilegii  et  auto- 
rita,  ne  che  ne  i  loro  stati  s'  introducessero  nuove  leggi,  et  nuove 
ordini  ad  instantia  massime,  et  perricordo  di  gente  straniera."  Rela- 
tione  di  M.  A.  Tiepolo,  ritornato  Ambasciatore  dal  Sermo  Re  Catto- 
lico,  1567,  MS. 


332 


VIEW  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS. 


tain  the  distinct  individuality  of  the  provinces,  rather 
than  to  unite  them  into  a  common  political  body. 
They  were  peopled  by  different  races,  speaking  differ 
ent  languages.  In  some  of  the  provinces  French  was 
spoken,  in  others  a  dialect  of  the  German.  Their 
position,  moreover,  had  often  brought  these  petty 
states  into  rivalry,  and  sometimes  into  open  war,  with 
one  another.  The  effects  of  these  feuds  continued 
after  the  causes  of  them  had  passed  away ;  and  mutual 
animosities  still  lingered  in  the  breasts  of  the  inhabit 
ants,  operating  as  a  permanent  source  of  disunion. 

From  these  causes,  after  the  greater  part  of  the  prov 
inces  had  been  brought  together  under  the  sceptre  of 
the  ducal  house  of  Burgundy,  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
it  was  found  impossible  to  fuse  them  into  one  nation. 
Even  Charles  the  Fifth,  with  all  his  power  and  personal 
influence,  found  himself  unequal  to  the  task.4  He  was 
obliged  to  relinquish  the  idea  of  consolidating  the 
different  states  into  one  monarchy,  and  to  content  him 
self  with  the  position — not  too  grateful  to  a  Spanish 
despot — of  head  of  a  republic,  or,  to  speak  more 
properly,  of  a  confederacy  of  republics. 

There  was,  however,  some  approach  made  to  a  national 
unity  in  the  institutions  which  grew  up  after  the  states 
were  brought  together  under  one  sceptre.  Thus,  while 
each  of  the  provinces  maintained  its  own  courts  of 
justice,  there  was  a  supreme  tribunal  established  at 
Mechlin,  with  appellate  jurisdiction  over  all  the  pro 
vincial  tribunals.  In  like  manner,  while  each  state 
had  its  own  legislative  assembly,  there  were  the  states- 
general,  consisting  of  the  clergy,  the  nobles,  and  the 
4  Basnage,  Annales  des  Provinces-Unies,  torn.  i.  p.  8. 


THEIR   CIVIL    INSTITUTIONS. 


333 


representatives  of  the  towns,  from  each  of  the  prov 
inces.  In  this  assembly — but  rarely  convened — were 
discussed  the  great  questions  having  reference  to  the 
interests  of  the  whole  country.  But  the  assembly  was 
vested  with  no  legislative  authority.  It  could  go  no 
further  than  to  present  petitions  to  the  sovereign  for 
the  redress  of  grievances.  It  possessed  no  right  be 
yond  the  right  of  remonstrance.  Even  in  questions 
of  taxation,  no  subsidy  could  be  settled  in  that  body 
without  the  express  sanction  of  each  of  the  provincial 
legislatures.  Such  a  form  of  government,  it  must  be 
admitted,  was  altogether  too  cumbrous  in  its  operations 
for  efficient  executive  movement.  It  was  by  no  means 
favorable  to  the  promptness  and  energy  demanded  for 
military  enterprise.  But  it  was  a  government  which, 
however  ill  suited  in  this  respect  to  the  temper  of 
Charles  the  Fifth,  was  well  suited  to  the  genius  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  to  their  circumstances,  which  de 
manded  peace.  They  had  no  ambition  for  foreign  con 
quest.  By  the  arts  of  peace  they  had  risen  to  this 
unprecedented  pitch  of  prosperity,  and  by  peace  alone, 
not  by  war,  could  they  hope  to  maintain  it. 

But  under  the  long  rule  of  the  Burgundian  princes, 
and  still  more  under  that  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  the  people 
of  the  Netherlands  felt  the  influence  of  those  circum 
stances  which  in  other  parts  of  Europe  were  gradually 
compelling  the  popular,  or  rather  the  feudal,  element 
to  give  way  to  the  spirit  of  centralization.  Thus  in 
time  the  sovereign  claimed  the  right  of  nominating  all 
the  higher  clergy.  In  some  instances  he  appointed 
the  judges  of  the  provincial  courts;  and  the  supreme 
tribunal  of  Mechlin  was  so  far  dependent  on  his 


334  VIEW  OF   THE   NETHERLANDS. 

authority  that  all  the  judges  were  named  and  their 
salaries  paid  by  the  crown.  The  sovereign's  authority 
was  even  stretched  so  far  as  to  interfere  not  tin  frequently 
with  the  rights  exercised  by  the  citizens  in  the  election 
of  their  own  magistrates,  —  rights  that  should  have 
been  cherished  by  them  as  of  the  last  importance.  As 
for  the  nobles,  we  cannot  over-estimate  the  ascendency 
which  the  master  of  an  empire  like  that  of  Charles 
the  Fifth  must  have  obtained  over  men  to  whom  he 
could  open  such  boundless  prospects  in  the  career  of 
ambition.5 

But  the  personal  character  and  the  peculiar  position 
of  Charles  tended  still  further  to  enlarge  the  royal 
authority.  He  was  a  Fleming  by  birth.  He  had  all 
the  tastes  and  habits  of  a  Fleming.  His  early  days  had 
been  passed  in  Flanders,  and  he  loved  to  return  to  his 
native  land  as  often  as  his  busy  life  would  permit  him, 
and  to  seek  in  the  free  and  joyous  society  of  the  Flemish 
capitals  some  relief  from  the  solemn  ceremonial  of  the 
Castilian  court.  This  preference  of  their  lord  was 
repaid  by  the  people  of  the  Netherlands  with  feelings 
of  loyal  devotion. 

But  they  had  reason  for  feelings  of  deeper  gratitude 
in  the  substantial  benefits  which  the  favor  of  Charles 
secured  to  them.  It  was  for  Flemings  that  the  highest 
posts  even  in  Spain  were  reserved,  and  the  marked 
preference  thus  shown  by  the  emperor  to  his  country- 

5  Basnage,  Annales  des  Provinces-Unies,  torn.  i.  p.  8. — Bentivoglio, 
Guerra  di  Fiandra  (Milano,  1806),  p.  9,  et  seq. — Ranke,  Spanish  Em 
pire,  p.  79. — The  last  writer,  with  his  usual  discernment,  has  selected 
the  particular  facts  that  illustrate  most  forcibly  the  domestic  policy  of 
the  Netherlands  under  Charles  the  Fifth. 


THEIR   CIVIL    INSTITUTION'S. 


335 


men  was  one  great  source  of  the  troubles  in  Castile. 
The  soldiers  of  the  Netherlands  accompanied  Charles 
on  his  military  expeditions,  and  their  cavalry  had  the 
reputation  of  being  the  best  appointed  and  best  dis 
ciplined  in  the  imperial  army.  The  vast  extent  of 
his  possessions,  spreading  over  every  quarter  of  the 
globe,  offered  a  boundless  range  for  the  commerce  of 
the  Netherlands,  which  was  everywhere  admitted  on 
the  most  favorable  footing.  Notwithstanding  his  occa 
sional  acts  of  violence  and  extortion,  Charles  was  too 
sagacious  not  to  foster  the  material  interests  of  a 
country  which  contributed  so  essentially  to  his  own 
resources.  Under  his  protecting  policy,  the  industry 
and  ingenuity  of  the  Flemings  found  ample  scope  in 
the  various  departments  of  husbandry,  manufactures, 
and  trade.  The  country  was  as  thickly  studded  with 
large  towns  as  other  countries  were  with  villages.  In 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  it  was  computed  to 
contain  above  three  hundred  and  fifty  cities,  and  more 
than  six  thousand  three  hundred  towns  of  a  smaller 
size.6  These  towns  were  not  the  resort  of  monks  and 
mendicants,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  Continent,  but 
they  swarmed  with  a  busy,  laborious  population.  No 
man  ate  the  bread  of  idleness  in  the  Netherlands.  At 
the  period  with  which  we  are  occupied,  Ghent  counted 
seventy  thousand  inhabitants,  Brussels  seventy -five 
thousand,  and  Antwerp  one  hundred  thousand.  This 

6  "  Urbes  in  ea  sive  moenibus  clausoe,  sive  clausis  magnitudine 
propemodum  pares,  supra  trecentas  et  quinquaginta  censeantur;  pagi 
ver6  majores  ultra  sex  millia  ac  trecentos  numerentur,  ut  nihil  de 
minoribus  vicis  arcibusque  loquar,  quibus  supra  omnem  numerum 
consitus  est  Belgicus  ager."  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  32. 


336  VIEW  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

was  at  a  period  when   London   itself  contained   but 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.7 

The  country,  fertilized  by  its  countless  canals  and 
sluices,  exhibited  everywhere  that  minute  and  patient 
cultivation  which  distinguishes  it  at  the  present  day, 
but  which  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  had 
no  parallel  but  in  the  lands  tilled  by  the  Moorish 
inhabitants  of  the  south  of  Spain.  The  ingenious 
spirit  of  the  people  was  shown  in  their  dexterity  in  the 
mechanical  arts,  and  in  the  talent  for  invention  which 
seems  to  be  characteristic  of  a  people  accustomed 
from  infancy  to  the  unfettered  exercise  of  their  facul 
ties.  The  processes  for  simplifying  labor  were  carried 
so  far  that  children,  as  we  are  assured,  began  at  four  or 
five  years  of  age  to  earn  a  livelihood.8  Each  of  the 
principal  cities  became  noted  for  its  excellence  in  some 
branch  or  other  of  manufacture.  Lille  was  known  for 
its  woollen  cloths,  Brussels  for  its  tapestry  and  carpets, 
Valenciennes  for  its  camlets,  while  the  towns  of  Holland 
and  Zealand  furnished  a  simpler  staple  in  the  form  of 
cheese,  butter,  and  salted  fish.9  These  various  com- 

7  Guicciardini,  Belgicae  Descriptio,  p.  207,  et  seq. — The  geographer 
gives  us  the  population  of  several  of  the  most  considerable  capitals 
in   Europe  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.     That  of  Paris, 
amounting  to  300,000,  seems  to  have  much  exceeded  that  of  every 
other  great  city  except  Moscow. 

8  "  Atque  hinc  adeo  fit,  ut  isti  opera  sua  ea  dexteritate,  facilitate, 
ordineque  disponant,  ut  et  parvuli,  ac  quadriennes  modo  aut  quin- 
quennes  eorum  filioli,  victum  illico  sibi  incipiant  quserere."    Guicciar 
dini,  Belgicse  Descriptio,  p.  55. 

9  Relatione  di  M.  Cavallo  tomato  Ambasciatore  dal  Imperatore, 
1551,  MS. — The  ambassador  does  not  hesitate  to  compare  Antwerp, 
for  the  extent  of  its  commerce,  to  his  own  proud  city  of  Venice : 
"  Anversa  corrisponde  di  mercantia  benissimo  a  Venetia,  Lovania  di 


THEIR    COMMERCIAL   PROSPERITY.         337 

modities  were  exhibited  at  the  great  fairs  held  twice 
a  year,  for  the  space  of  twenty  days  each,  at  Antwerp, 
which  were  thronged  by  foreigners  as  well  as  natives. 

In  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  the  Flem 
ings  imported  great  quantities  of  wool  from  England, 
to  be  manufactured  into  cloth  at  home.  But  Flemish 
emigrants  had  carried  that  manufacture  to  England ; 
and  in  the  time  of  Philip  the  Second  the  cloths  them 
selves  were  imported  from  the  latter  country  to  the 
amount  of  above  five  millions  of  crowns  annually,  and 
exchanged  for  the  domestic  products  of  the  Nether 
lands.10  This  single  item  of  trade  with  one  of  their 
neighbors  may  suggest  some  notion  of  the.  extent  of  the 
commerce  of  the  Low  Countries  at  this  period. 

But  in  truth  the  commerce  of  the  country  stretched 
to  the  remotest  corners  of  the  globe.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  Netherlands,  trained  from  early  youth  to  battle 
with  the  waves,  found  their  true  element  on  the  ocean. 
"As  much  as  Nature,"  says  an  enthusiastic  writer, 
"restricted  their  domain  on  land,  so  much  the  more 
did  they  extend  their  empire  on  the  deep."11  Their 
fleets  were  to  be  found  on  every  sea.  In  the  Euxine 
and  in  the  Mediterranean  they  were  rivals  of  the  Vene- 

studio  a  Padova,  Gante  per  grandezza  a  Verona,  Brussellis  per  il  situ 
a  Brescia." 

10  "  Liquido  enim  constat,  eorura,  anno  annum  pensante,  et  carisasis 
aliisque  panniculis  ad  integros  pannos  reductis,  ducenta  et  amplius 
millia  annuatim  nobis  distribui,  quorum  singuli  minimum  aestimentur 
vicenis  quinis  scutatis,  ita  ut  in  quinque  et  amplius  milliones  ratio 
tandem  excrescat."     Guicciardini,  Belgicae  Descriptio,  p.  244. 

11  "  Quse  ver6  ignota  marium  litora,  quasve  desinentis  mundi  oras 
scrutata  non  est  Belgarum  nantica?     Nimirum  quanto  illos  natura 
intra  fines  terras  contractiores  inclusit,  tanto  ampliores  ipsi  sibi  aperu- 
ere  oceani  campos."     Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  lib.  i.  p.  32. 

Philip. — VOL.  I. — P  29 


338  VIEW  OF   THE  NETHERLANDS. 

tian  and  the  Genoese,  and  they  contended  with  the 
English,  and  even  with  the  Spaniards,  for  superiority 
on  the  "  narrow  seas"  and  the  great  ocean. 

The  wealth  which  flowed  into  the  country  from  this 
extended  trade  was  soon  shown  in  the  crowded  popula 
tion  of  its  provinces  and  the  splendor  of  their  capitals. 
At  the  head  of  these  stood  the  city  of  Antwerp,  which 
occupied  the  place  in  the  sixteenth  century  that  Bruges 
had  occupied  in  the  fifteenth,  as  the  commercial  me 
tropolis  of  the  Netherlands.  Two  hundred  and  fifty 
vessels  might  often  be  seen  at  the  same  time  taking  in 
their  cargoes  at  her  quays.12  Two  thousand  loaded 
wagons  from  the  neighboring  countries  of  France, 
Germany,  and  Lorraine  daily  passed  through  her 
gates  ;13  and  a  greater  number  of  vessels,  freighted 
with  merchandise  from  different  quarters  of  the  world, 
were  to  be  seen  floating  at  the  same  time  on  the  waters 
of  the  Scheldt.14 

The  city,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  Brabant,  was 
distinguished  by  certain  political  privileges,  which  com 
mended  it  as  a  place  of  residence  even  to  foreigners. 
Women  of  the  other  provinces,  it  is  said,  when  the 
time  of  their  confinement  drew  near,  would  come  to 
Brabant,  that  their  offspring  might  claim  the  fran 
chises  of  this  favored  portion  of  the  Netherlands.15  So 

"  Schiller,  Abfall  der  Niederlande  (Stuttgart,  1838),  p.  44. 

X3  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

*•*  Burgon,  Life  of  Sir  Thomas  Gresham  (London,  1839),  vol.  i. 
p.  2. 

J5  "  In  quorum  (Brabantinorum)  Provinciam  scimus  transferre  se 
solitas  e  vicinis  locis  parituras  mulieres,  ut  Brabantinas  immunitates 
filiis  eo  solo  genitis  acquierent,  crederes  ab  agricolis  eligi  plantaria,  in 
quibus  enatae  arbusculae,  primoque  illo  terras  velut  ab  ubere  lactentes, 


THEIR   COMMERCIAL   PROSPERITY.         339 

jealous  were  the  people  of  this  province  of  their  liber 
ties,  that  in  their  oath  of  allegiance  to  their  sovereign, 
on  his  accession,  it  was  provided  that  this  allegiance 
might  lawfully  be  withheld  whenever  he  ceased  to 
respect  their  privileges.16 

Under  the  shelter  of  its  municipal  rights,  foreigners 
settled  in  great  numbers  in  Antwerp.  The  English 
established  a  factory  there.  There  was  also  a  Por 
tuguese  company,  an  Italian  company,  a  company 
of  merchants  from  the  Hanse  Towns,  and,  lastly,  a 
Turkish  company,  which  took  up  its  residence  there 
for  the  purpose  of  pursuing  a  trade  with  the  Levant. 
A  great  traffic  was  carried  on  in  bills  of  exchange. 
Antwerp,  in  short,  became  the  banking-house  of  Eu 
rope ;  and  capitalists,  the  Rothschilds  of  their  day, 
whose  dealings  were  with  sovereign  princes,  fixed  their 
abode  in  Antwerp,  which  was  to  the  rest  of  Europe  in 
the  sixteenth  century  what  London  is  in  the  nine 
teenth, — the  great  heart  of  commercial  circulation.17 

In  1531  the  public  Exchange  was  erected,  the  finest 
building  of  its  kind  at  that  time  anywhere  to  be  seen. 
The  city,  indeed,  was  filled  with  stately  edifices,  the 
largest  of  which,  the  great  cathedral,  having  been 
nearly  destroyed  by  fire,  soon  after  the  opening  of  the 
Exchange,  was  rebuilt,  and  still  remains  a  noble  speci 
men  of  the  architectural  science  of  the  time.  Another 
age  was  to  see  the  walls  of  the  same  cathedral  adorned 

ali6  dein  secum  auferant  dotes  hospitalis  soli."  Strada,  De  Bello  Bel- 
gico.  lib.  ii.  p.  61. 

16  Histoire  des  Provinces-Unies  des  Pai's-Bas  (La  Haye,  1704),  torn, 
i.  p.  88. 

T7  Guicciardini,  Belgicse  Descriptio,  p.  225,  et  seq. 


340  VIE W  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

with  those  exquisite  productions  of  Rubens  and  his 
disciples,  which  raised  the  Flemish  school  to  a  level 
with  the  great  Italian  masters. 

The  rapidly  increasing  opulence  of  the  city  was 
visible  in  the  luxurious  accommodations  and  sumptu 
ous  way  of  living  of  the  inhabitants.  The  merchants 
of  Antwerp  rivalled  the  -nobles  of  other  lands  in  the 
splendor  of  their  dress  and  domestic  establishments. 
Something  of  the  same  sort  showed  itself  in  the  middle 
classes;  and  even  in  those  of  humbler  condition  there 
was  a  comfort  approaching  to  luxury  in  their  house 
holds,  which  attracted  the  notice  of  an  Italian  writer 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  He  commends  the  scrupulous 
regard  to  order  and  cleanliness  observed  in  the  ar 
rangement  of  the  dwellings,  and  expresses  his  admira 
tion  not  only  of  the  careful  attention  given  by  the 
women  to  their  domestic  duties,  but  also  of  their  sin 
gular  capacity  for  conducting  those  business  affairs 
usually  reserved  for  the  other  sex.  This  was  particu 
larly  the  case  in  Holland.18  But  this  freedom  of  inter 
course  was  no  disparagement  to  their  feminine  qualities. 
The  liberty  they  assumed  did  not  degenerate  into  li 
cense;  and  he  concludes  his  animated  portraiture  of 
these  Flemish  matrons  by  pronouncing  them  as  discreet 
as  they  were  beautiful. 

The  humbler  classes,  in  so  abject  a  condition  in 
other  parts  of  Europe  at  that  day,  felt  the  good  effects 
of  this  general  progress  in  comfort  and  civilization. 
It  was  rare  to  find  one,  we  are  told,  so  illiterate  as  not 

18  "  Ut  in  multis  terrae  Provinciis,  Hollandia  nominatim  atque  Ze- 
landia,  viri  omnium  fere  rerum  suarum  curam  uxoribus  saspe  relin- 
quant."  Guicciardini,  Belgica:  Descriptio,  p.  58. 


PROTESTANT  DOCTRINES. 


341 


to  be  acquainted  with  the  rudiments  of  grammar ;  and 
there  was  scarcely  a  peasant  who  could  not  both  read 
and  write ; I9 — this  at  a  time  when  to  read  and  write 
were  accomplishments  not.  always  possessed,  in  other 
countries,  by  those  even  in  the  higher  walks  of  life. 

It  was  not  possible  that  a  people  so  well  advanced 
in  the  elements  of  civilization  should  long  remain 
insensible  to  the  great  religious  reform  which,  having 
risen  on  their  borders,  was  now  rapidly  spreading  over 
Christendom.  Besides  the  contiguity  of  the  Nether 
lands  to  Germany,  their  commerce  with  other  countries 
had  introduced  them  to  Protestantism  as  it  existed 
there.  The  foreign  residents,  and  the  Swiss  and  Ger 
man  mercenaries  quartered  in  the  provinces,  had  im 
ported  along  with  them  these  same  principles  of  the 
Reformation;  and,  lastly,  the  Flemish  nobles,  who  at 
that  time  were  much  in  the  fashion  of  going  abroad 
to  study  in  Geneva,  returned  from  that  stronghold  of 
Calvin  well  fortified  with  the  doctrines  of  the  great 
Reformer.20  Thus  the  seeds  of  the  Reformation, 
whether  in  the  Lutheran  or  the  Calvinistic  form,  were 
scattered  wide  over  the  land,  and  took  root  in  a  con 
genial  soil.  The  phlegmatic  temperament  of  the 
northern  provinces,  especially,  disposed  them  to  re- 

"9  "  Major!  gentis  parti  nota  Grammaticae  rudimenta,  et  vel  ipsi 
etiam  rustici  legendi  scribendique  periti  sunt."  Guicciardini,  Belgicse 
Description,  p.  53. — Guicciardini,  who  states  this  remarkable  fact,  had 
ample  opportunity  for  ascertaining  the  truth  of  it,  since,  though  an 
Italian  by  birth,  he  resided  in  the  Netherlands  for  forty  years  or  more. 

20  Schiller,  Abfall  der  Niederlande,  p.  53. — Vandervynckt,  Histoire 
cles  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas  (Bruxelles,  1822),  torn.  ii.  p.  6. — Groen 
Van  Prinsterer,  Archives  ou  Correspondance  inedite  de  la  Maison 
d'Orange-Nassau  (Leide,  1841),  torn.  i.  p.  164*. 
29* 


342  VIEW  OF  THE   NETHERLANDS. 

ceive  a  religion  which  addressed  itself  so  exclusively  to 
the  reason,  while  they  were  less  open  to  the  influences 
of  Catholicism,  which,  with  its  gorgeous  accessories, 
appealing  to  the  passions,  is  better  suited  to  the  lively 
sensibilities  and  kindling  imaginations  of  the  south. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Charles  the  Fifth  could 
long  remain  insensible  to  this  alarming  defection  of 
his  subjects  in  the  Netherlands,  nor  that  the  man 
whose  life  was  passed  in  battling  with  the  Lutherans 
of  Germany  could  patiently  submit  to  see  their  de 
tested  heresy  taking  root  in  his  own  dominions.  He 
dreaded  this  innovation  no  less  in  a  temporal  than  in 
a  spiritual  view.  Experience  had  shown  that  freedom 
of  speculation  in  affairs  of  religion  naturally  led  to 
free  inquiry  into  political  abuses, — that  the  work  of  the 
reformer  was  never  accomplished  so  long  as  any  thing 
remained  to  reform,  in  state  as  well  as  in  church. 
Charles,  with  the  instinct  of  Spanish  despotism,  sought 
a  remedy  in  one  of  those  acts  of  arbitrary  power  in 
which  he  indulged  without  scruple  when  the  occasion 
called  for  them. 

In  March,  1520,  he  published  the  first  of  his  bar 
barous  edicts  for  the  suppression  of  the  new  faith.  It 
was  followed  by  several  others  of  the  same  tenor,  re 
peated  at  intervals  throughout  his  reign.  The  last 
appeared  in  September,  1550. 2I  As  this  in  a  manner 
suspended  those  that  had  preceded  it,  to  which,  how 
ever,  it  substantially  conformed,  and  as  it  became  the 

21  The  whole  number  of  "  placards"  issued  by  Charles  the  Fifth 
amounted  to  eleven.  See  the  dates  in  Gachard,  Correspondance  de 
Philippe  II.  sur  les  Affaires  des  Pays-Bas  (Bruxelles,  1848),  torn.  i.  pp. 
105,  106. 


PERSECUTION  BY  CHARLES  THE  FIFTH.      343 

basis  of  Philip's  subsequent  legislation,  it  will  be  well 
to  recite  its  chief  provisions. 

By  this  edict — or  "  placard,"  as  it  was  called — it  was 
ordained  that  all  who  were  convicted  of  heresy  should 
suffer  death  "by  fire,  by  the  pit,  or  by  the  sword,"22 
— in  other  words,  should  be  burned  alive,  be  buried 
alive,  or  be  beheaded.  These  terrible  penalties  were 
incurred  by  all  who  dealt  in  heretical  books  or  copied 
or  bought  them,  by  all  who  held  or  attended  con 
venticles,  by  all  who  disputed  on  the  Scriptures  in 
public  or  private,  by  all  who  preached  or  defended 
the  doctrines  of  reform.  Informers  were  encouraged 
by  the  promise  of  one-half  of  the  confiscated  estate  of 
the  heretic.  No  suspected  person  was  allowed  to  make 
any  donation,  or  sell  any  of  his  effects,  or  dispose  of 
them  by  will.  Finally,  the  courts  were  instructed  to 
grant  no  remission  or  mitigation  of  punishment  under 
the  fallacious  idea  of  mercy  to  the  convicted  party, 
and  it  was  made  penal  for  the  friends  of  the  accused 
to  solicit  such  indulgence  on  his  behalf.23 

The  more  thoroughly  to  enforce  these  edicts,  Charles 
took  a  hint  from  the  terrible  tribunal  with  which  he 
was  familiar  in  Spain, — the  Inquisition.  He  obtained 
a  bull  from  his  old  preceptor,  Adrian  the  Sixth,  ap 
pointing  an  inquisitor-general,  who  had  authority  to 
examine  persons  suspected  of  heresy,  to  imprison  and 

22  "  liefer,  la  fosse,  et  \efeu."  Gachard,  Correspondance  de  Philippe 
II.,  ubi  supra. 

23  Meteren,   Histoire   des    Pays-Bas.  ou    Recueil   des   Guerres   et 
Choses  memorables,  depuis  1'An  1315,  jusques  a  1'An  1612,  traduit  du 
Flamand  (La  Haye,  1618),  fol.  10. — Brandt,  History  of  the  Reforma 
tion  in  the  Low  Countries,  translated  from  the  Dutch  (London,  1720), 
vol.  i.  p.  88. 


344  VIEW  OF   THE   NETHERLANDS. 

torture  them,  to  confiscate  their  property,  and  finally 
sentence  them  to  banishment  or  death.  These  for 
midable  powers  were  intrusted  to  a  layman, — a  lawyer 
of  eminence,  and  one  of  the  council  of  Brabant.  But 
this  zealous  functionary  employed  his  authority  with  so 
good  effect  that  it  speedily  roused  the  general  indigna 
tion  of  his  countrymen,  who  compelled  him  to  fly  for 
his  life. 

By  another  bull  from  Rome,  four  inquisitors  were 
appointed  in  the  place  of  the  fugitive.  These  inquisi 
tors  were  ecclesiastics,  not  of  the  fierce  Dominican 
order,  as  in  Spain,  but  members  of  the  secular  clergy. 
All  public  officers  were  enjoined  to  aid  them  in  detect 
ing  and  securing  suspected  persons,  and  the  common 
prisons  were  allotted  for  the  confinement  of  their 
victims. 

The  people  would  seem  to  have  gained  little  by  the 
substitution  of  four  inquisitors  for  one.  But  in  fact 
they  gained  a  great  deal.  The  sturdy  resistance  made 
to  the  exercise  of  the  unconstitutional  powers  of  the 
inquisitor-general  compelled  Charles  to  bring  those  of 
the  new  functionaries  more  within  the  limits  of  the 
law.  For  twenty  years  or  more  their  powers  seem 
not  to  have  been  well  defined.  But  in  1546  it  was 
decreed  that  no  sentence  whatever  could  be  pronounced 
by  an  inquisitor  without  the  sanction  of  some  member 
of  the  provincial  council.  Thus,  however  barbarous 
the  law  against  heresy,  the  people  of  the  Netherlands 
had  this  security,  that  it  was  only  by  their  own  regular 
courts  of  justice  that  this  law  was  to  be  interpreted  and 
enforced.24 

24  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  108.— Grotius,  Annales 


PERSECUTION  BY  CHARLES   THE   FIFTH.      345 

Such  were  the  expedients  adopted  by  Charles  the 
Fifth  for  the  suppression  of  heresy  in  the  Netherlands. 
Notwithstanding  the  name  of  "inquisitors,"  the  new 
establishment  bore  faint  resemblance  to  the  dread 
tribunal  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  with  which  it  has 
been  often  confounded.25  The  Holy  Office  presented 
a  vast  and  complicated  machinery,  skilfully  adapted  to 
the  existing  institutions  of  Castile.  It  may  be  said  to 
have  formed  part  of  the  government  itself,  and,  how 
ever  restricted  in  its  original  design,  it  became  in  time 
a  formidable  political  engine,  no  less  than  a  religious 
'one.  The  grand  inquisitor  was  clothed  with  an  au 
thority  before  which  the  monarch  himself  might  trem 
ble.  On  some  occasions  he  even  took  precedence  of 
the  monarch.  The  courts  of  the  Inquisition  were 
distributed  throughout  the  country,  and  were  con 
ducted  with  a  solemn  pomp  that  belonged  to  no  civil 
tribunal  Spacious  buildings  were  erected  for  their 
accommodation,  and  the  gigantic  prisons  of  the  In 
quisition  rose  up,  like  impregnable  fortresses,  in  the 
principal  cities  of  the  kingdom.  A  swarm  of  menials 
and  officials  waited  to  do  its  bidding.  The  proud- 

et  Historiae  de  Rebus  Belgicis  (Amstelsedami,  1657),  p.  n. — Brandt, 
Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries,  vol.  i.  p.  88. 

25  Viglius,  afterwards  president  of  the  privy  council,  says  plainly,  in 
one  of  his  letters  to  Granvelle,  that  the  name  of  Spanish  Inquisition 
was  fastened  on  the  Flemish  in  order  to  make  it  odious  to  the  people  : 
"  Queruntur  autem  imprimis,  a  nobis  novam  inductam  inquisitionem, 
quam  vocant  Hispanicam.  Quod  falsd  populo  a  quibusdam  persuade- 
tur,  ut  nomine  ipso  rein  odiosam  reddant,  cum  nulla  alia  ab  Csesare 
sit  instituta  inquisitio,  quam  ea,  quae  cum  jure  scripto  scilicet  Canonico, 
convenit,  et  usitata  antea  fuit  in  hac  Provincia."  Viglii  Epistola; 
Selectse,  ap.  Hoynck,  Analecta  Belgica  (Hagoe  Comitum,  1743),  torn. 
ii.  pars  i.  p.  349. 
P* 


346  VIEW  OF   THE  NETHERLANDS. 

est  nobles  of  the  land  held  it  an  honor  to  serve  as 
familiars  of  the  Holy  Office.  In  the  midst  of  this  ex 
ternal  pomp,  the  impenetrable  veil  thrown  over  its 
proceedings  took  strong  hold  of  the  imagination,  in 
vesting  the  tribunal  with  a  sort  of  supernatural  terror. 
An  individual  disappeared  from  the  busy  scenes  of 
life.  No  one  knew  whither  he  had  gone,  till  he  re 
appeared,  clothed  in  the  fatal  garb  of  the  sun  benito, 
to  take  part  in  the  tragic  spectacle  of  an  auto  de  fe. 
This  was  the  great  triumph  of  the  Inquisition,  rival 
ling  the  ancient  Roman  triumph  in  the  splendor  of  the 
show,  and  surpassing  it  in  the  solemn  and  mysterious 
import  of  the  ceremonial.  It  was  hailed  with  enthu 
siasm  by  the  fanatical  Spaniard  of  that  day,  who  in 
the  martyrdom  of  the  infidel  saw  only  a  sacrifice  most 
acceptable  to  the  Deity.  The  Inquisition  succeeded 
in  Spain,  for  it  was  suited  to  the  character  of  the 
Spaniard. 

But  it  was  not  suited  to  the  free  and  independent 
character  of  the  people  of  the  Netherlands.  Freedom 
of  thought  they  claimed  as  their  birthright ;  and  the 
attempt  to  crush  it  by  introducing  the  pernicious  usages 
of  Spain  was  everywhere  received  with  execration.  Such 
an  institution  was  an  accident,  and  could  not  become 
an  integral  part  of  the  constitution.  It  was  a  vicious 
graft  on  a  healthy  stock.  It  could  bear  no  fruit,  and 
sooner  or  later  it  must  perish. 

Yet  the  Inquisition,  such  as  it  was,  did  its  work 
while  it  lasted  in  the  Netherlands.  This  is  true,  at 
least,  if  we  are  to  receive  the  popular  statement  that 
fifty  thousand  persons,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the 
Fifth,  suffered  for  their  religious  opinions  by  the  hand 


PERSECUTION  BY  CHARLES    THE   FIFTH. 


347 


of  the  executioner !  *  This  monstrous  statement  has 
been  repeated  by  one  historian  after  another,  with 
apparently  as  little  distrust  as  examination.  It  affords 
one  among  many  examples  of  the  facility  with  which 
men  adopt  the  most  startling  results,  especially  when 
conveyed  in  the  form  of  numerical  estimates.  There 
is  something  that  strikes  the  imagination  in  a  nu 
merical  estimate  which  settles  a  question  so  summarily, 
in  a  form  so  precise  and  so  portable.  Yet  whoever 
has  had  occasion  to  make  any  researches  into  the  past 
— that  land  of  uncertainty — will  agree  that  there  is 
nothing  less  entitled  to  confidence.- 

In  the  present  instance,  such  a  statement  might 
seem  to  carry  its  own  refutation  on  the  face  of  it. 
Llorente,  the  celebrated  secretary  of  the  Holy  Office, 
whose  estimates  will  never  be  accused  of  falling  short 
of  the  amount,  computes  the  whole  number  of  victims 
sacrificed  during  the  first  eighteen  years  of  the  Inqui 
sition  in  Castile,  when  it  was  in  most  active  operation, 
at  about  ten  thousand.27  The  storm  of  persecution 
there,  it  will  be  remembered,  fell  chiefly  on  the  Jews, 
— that  ill-omened  race,  from  whom  every  pious  Catho 
lic  would  have  rejoiced  to  see  his  land  purified  by  fire 
and  fagot.  It  will  hardly  be  believed  that  five  times 
the  number  of  these  victims  perished  in  a  country  like 
the  Netherlands,  in  a  term  of  time  not  quite  double 
that  occupied  for  their  extermination  in  Spain, — the 
Netherlands,  where  every  instance  of  such  persecution, 

26  Grotius  swells  the  number  to  one  hundred  thousand  !     (Annales, 
p.  12.)     It  is  all  one:  beyond  a  certain  point  of  the  incredible,  one 
ceases  to  estimate  probabilities. 

27  Histoire  de  1'Inquisition  d'Espagne  (Paris,  1818),  torn.  i.  p.  280. 


348  VIEW  OF  THE   NETHERLANDS. 

instead  of  being  hailed  as  a  triumph  of  the  Cross,  was 
regarded  as  a  fresh  outrage  on  the  liberties  of  the 
nation.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  such  a  number 
of  martyrs  as  that  pretended  would  have  produced  an 
explosion  that  would  have  unsettled  the  authority  of 
Charles  himself,  and  left  for  his  successor  less  territory 
in  the  Netherlands  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign  than 
he  was  destined  to  have  at  the  end  of  it. 

Indeed,  the  frequent  renewal  of  the  edicts,  which 
was  repeated  no  less  than  nine  times  during  Charles's 
administration,  intimates  plainly  enough  the  very 
sluggish  and  unsatisfactory  manner  in  which  they  had 
been  executed.  In  some  provinces,  as  Luxembourg 
and  Groningen,  the  Inquisition  was  not  introduced  at 
all.  Gueldres  stood  on  its  privileges,  guaranteed  to  it 
by  the  emperor  on  his  accession.  And  Brabant  so 
effectually  remonstrated  on  the  mischief  which  the 
mere  name  of  the  Inquisition  would  do  to  the  trade 
of  the  country,  and  especially  of  Antwerp,  its  capital, 
that  the  emperor  deemed  it  prudent  to  qualify  some  of 
the  provisions  and  to  drop  the  name  of  Inquisitor  al 
together.28  There  is  no  way  more  sure  of  rousing  the 
sensibilities  of  a  commercial  people  than  by  touching 
their  pockets.  Charles  did  not  care  to  press  matters 
to  such  extremity.  He  was  too  politic  a  prince,  too 
large  a  gainer  by  the  prosperity  of  his  people,  willingly 
to  put  it  in  peril,  even  for  conscience'  sake.  In  this 
lay  the  difference  between  him  and  Philip. 

Notwithstanding,  therefore,  his  occasional  abuse  of 
power,  and  the  rattle  respect  he  may  have  had  at  heart 
for  the  civil  rights  of  his  subjects,  the  government  of 
518  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  pp.  123,  124. 


PERSECUTION  BY  CHARLES    THE   FIFTH.      349 

Charles,  as  already  intimated,  was  on  the  whole  favor 
able  to  their  commercial  interests.  He  was  well  repaid 
by  the  enlarged  resources  of  the  country,  and  the  aid 
they  afforded  him  for  the  prosecution  of  his  ambitious 
enterprises.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years,  as  we  are 
informed  by  a  contemporary,  he  drew  from  the  Nether 
lands  no  less  than  twenty-four  millions  of  ducats.29 
And  this  supply — furnished  not  ungrudgingly,  it  is 
true — was  lavished,  for  the  most  part,  on  objects  in 
which  the  nation  had  no  interest.  In  like  manner,  it 
was  the  revenues  of  the  Netherlands  which  defrayed 
great  part  of  Philip's  expenses  in  the  war  that  fol 
lowed  his  accession.  "Here,"  exclaims  the  Venetian 
envoy,  Soriano,  "were  the  true  treasures  of  the  king 
of  Spain ;  here  were  his  mines,  his  Indies,  which  fur 
nished  Charles  with  the  means  of  carrying  on  his  wars 
for  so  many  years  with  the  French,  the  Germans,  the 
Italians,  which  provided  for  the  defence  of  his  own 
states,  and  maintained  his  dignity  and  reputation."30 

Such,  then,  was  the  condition  of  the  country  at  the 
time  when  the  sceptre  passed  from  the  hands  of  Charles 
the  Fifth  into  those  of  Philip  the  Second, — its  broad 
plains  teeming  with  the  products  of  an  elaborate  cul 
ture,  its  cities  swarming  with  artisans  skilled  in  all 
kinds  of  ingenious  handicraft,  its  commerce  abroad 
on  every  sea  and  bringing  back  rich  returns  from 

29  "  Donde  che  I'lmperatore  ha  potuto  cavare  in  24  million!  d'  oro 
in  pochi  anni."  Relatione  di  Soriano,  MS. 

3°  "  Questi  sono  li  tesori  del  Re  di  Spagna,  questele  miniere,  queste 
1'  Indie  che  hanno  sostenuto  1'  imprese  dell*  Imperatore  tanti  anni 
nolle  guerre  di  Francia.  d'  Italia  et  d'  Alemagna,  et  hanno  conservato 
et  diffeso  li  stati,  la  dignitk  et  la  riputatione  sua."     Ibid. 
Philip. — VOL.  I.  30 


350 


VIEW  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS. 


distant  climes.  The  great  body  of  its  people,  well 
advanced  in  the  arts  of  civilization,  rejoiced  in  "such 
abundance  of  all  things,"  says  a  foreigner  who  wit 
nessed  their  prosperity,  "that  there  was  no  man,  how 
ever  humble,  who  did  not  seem  rich  for  his  station."31 
In  this  active  development  of  their  powers,  the  inquisi 
tive  minds  of  the  inhabitants  naturally  turned  to  those 
great  problems  in  religion  which  were  agitating  the 
neighboring  countries  of  France  and  Germany.  All 
the  efforts  of  Charles  were  unavailing  to  check  the 
spirit  of  inquiry;  and  in  the  last  year  of  his  reign  he 
bitterly  confessed  the  total  failure  of  his  endeavor  to 
stay  the  progress  of  heresy  in  the  Netherlands.33  Well 
had  it  been  for  his  successor  had  he  taken  counsel  by 
the  failure  of  his  father  and  substituted  a  more  lenient 
policy  for  the  ineffectual  system  of  persecution.  But 
such  was  not  the  policy  of  Philip. 

31  "  Et  perd  in  ogni  luogo  corrono  tanti  i  denari  et  tanto  il  spaccia- 
mento  d'  ogni  cosa  che  non  vi  e  huomo  per  basso  et  inerte,  che  sia, 
che  per  il  suo  grado  non  sia  ricco."  Relatione  di  Cavallo,  MS. 

S2  See  an  extract  from  the  original  letter  of  Charles,  dated  Brussels, 
January  27th,  1555,  ap.  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn-  i.  p. 


CHAPTER    II. 

SYSTEM    ESTABLISHED    BY    PHILIP. 

Unpopular  Manners  of  Philip. — He  enforces  the  Edicts. — Increase 
of  Bishoprics.  —  Margaret  of  Parma  Regent.  —  Meeting  of  the 
States-General.  —  Their  spirited  Conduct.  —  Organization  of  the 
Councils. — Rise  and  Character  of  Granvelle. — Philip's  Departure. 

I559- 

PHILIP  THE  SECOND  was  no  stranger  to  the  Nether 
lands.  He  had  come  there,  as  it  will  be  remembered, 
when  very  young,  to  be  presented  by  his  father  to  his 
future  subjects.  On  that  occasion  he  had  greatly  dis 
gusted  the  people  by  that  impenetrable  reserve  which 
they  construed  into  haughtiness,  and  which  strongly 
contrasted  with  the  gracious  manners  of  the  emperor. 
Charles  saw  with  pain  the  impression  which  his  son 
had  left  on  his  subjects;  and  the  effects  of  his  paternal 
admonitions  were  visible  in  a  marked  change  in  Philip's 
deportment  on  his  subsequent  visit  to  England.  But 
nature  lies  deeper  than  manner;  and  when  Philip  re 
turned,  on  his  father's  abdication,  to  assume  the  sove 
reignty  of  the  Netherlands,  he  wore  the  same  frigid 
exterior  as  in  earlier  days. 

His  first  step  was  to  visit  the  different  provinces  and 
receive  from  them  their  oaths  of  allegiance.  No  better 
occasion  could  be  offered  for  conciliating  the  good 
will  of  the  inhabitants.  Everywhere  his  approach  was 

(35i) 


352 


SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED   BY  PHILIP. 


greeted  with  festivities  and  public  rejoicing.  The  gates 
of  the  capitals  were  thrown  open  to  receive  him,  and 
the  population  thronged  out,  eager  to  do  homage  to 
their  new  sovereign.  It  was  a  season  of  jubilee  for  the 
whole  nation. 

In  this  general  rejoicing,  Philip's  eye  alone  remained 
dark.1  Shut  up  in  his  carriage,  he  seemed  desirous  to 
seclude  himself  from  the  gaze  of  his  new  subjects,  who 
crowded  around,  anxious  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  their 
young  monarch.2  His  conduct  seemed  like  a  rebuke 
of  their  enthusiasm.  Thus  chilled  as  they  were  in  the 
first  flow  of  their  loyalty,  his  progress  through  the 
land,  which  should  have  won  him  all  hearts,  closed  all 
hearts  against  him. 

The  emperor,  when  he  visited  the  Netherlands,  was 
like  one  coming  back  to  his  native  country.  He  spoke 
the  language  of  the  people,  dressed  in  their  dress,  con 
formed  to  their  usages  and  way  of  life.  But  Philip 
was  in  every  thing  a  Spaniard.  He  spoke  only  the 
Castilian.  He  adopted  the  Spanish  etiquette  and 
burdensome  ceremonial.  He  was  surrounded  by  Span 
iards,  and,  with  few  exceptions,  it  was  to  Spaniards 
only  that  he  gave  his  confidence.  Charles  had  dis- 

1  It  is  the  fine  expression  of  Schiller,  applied  to  Philip  on  another 
occasion.     Abfall  der  Niederlande,  p.  61. 

2  "  II  se  cachait  ordinairement  dans  le  fond  de  son  carosse,  pour 
se  derober  a  la  curiosite  d'un  peuple  qui  courait  audevant  de  lui  et 
s'empressait  a  le  voir ;  le  peuple  se  crut  dedaigne  et  meprise."     Van- 
dervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  17. — Coaches  were  a 
novelty  then  in  Flanders,  and  indeed  did  not  make  their  appearance 
till  some  years  later  in  London.     Sir  Thomas  Gresham  writes  from 
Antwerp,  in  1560,  "The  Regent  ys  here  still;  and  every  other  day 
rydes  abowght  this  town  in  her  cowche,  brave  come  le  sol,  trymmed 
after  the  Itallione  fasshone."    Burgon,  Life  of  Gresham,  vol.  i.  p.  305. 


UNPOPULAR   MANNERS   OF  PHILIP. 


353 


gusted  his  Spanish  subjects  by  the  marked  preference 
he  had  given  to  his  Flemish.  The  reverse  now  took 
place,  and  Philip  displeased  the  Flemings  by  his  par 
tiality  for  the  Spaniards.  The  people  of  the  Nether 
lands  felt  with  bitterness  that  the  sceptre  of  their 
country  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  foreigner. 

During  his  progress  Philip  caused  reports  to  be  pre 
pared  for  him  of  the  condition  of  the  several  prov 
inces,  their  population  and  trade, — presenting  a  mass 
of  statistical  details,  in  which,  with  his  usual  industry, 
he  was  careful  to  instruct  himself.  On  his  return,  his 
first  concern  was  to  provide  for  the  interests  of  re 
ligion.  He  renewed  his  father's  edicts  relating  to  the 
Inquisition,  and  in  the  following  year  confirmed  the 
"placard"  respecting  heresy.  In  doing  this,  he  was 
careful,  by  the  politic  advice  of  Granvelle,  to  conform 
as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  language  of  the  original 
edicts,  that  no  charge  of  innovation  might  be  laid  to 
him,  and  thus  the  odium  of  these  unpopular  measures 
might  remain  with  their  original  author.3 

But  the  object  which  Philip  had  most  at  heart  was  a 
reform  much  needed  in  the  ecclesiastical  establishment 
of  the  country.  It  may  seem  strange  that  in  all  the 
Netherlands  there  were  but  three  bishoprics, — Arras, 
Tournay,  and  Utrecht.  A  large  part  of  the  country 
was  incorporated  with  some  one  or  other  of  the  con 
tiguous  German  dioceses.  The  Flemish  bishoprics 
were  of  enormous  extent.  That  of  Utrecht  alone  em 
braced  no  less  than  three  hundred  walled  towns  and 

3  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  pp.  108,  126. — Vander- 
vynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  10. — Brandt,  Reformation 
in  the  Low  Countries,  torn.  i.  p.  107. 
30* 


354        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED   BY  PHILIP. 

eleven  hundred  churches.4  It  was  impossible  that  any 
pastor,  however  diligent,  could  provide  for  the  wants 
of  a  flock  so  widely  scattered,  or  that  he  could  exer 
cise  supervision  over  the  clergy  themselves,  who  had 
fallen  into  a  lamentable  decay  both  of  discipline  and 
morals. 

Still  greater  evils  followed  from  the  circumstance  of 
the  episcopal  authority's  being  intrusted  to  foreigners. 
From  their  ignorance  of  the  institutions  of  the  Nether 
lands,  they  were  perpetually  trespassing  on  the  rights 
of  the  nation.  Another  evil  consequence  was  the 
necessity  of  carrying  up  ecclesiastical  causes,  by  way 
of  appeal,  to  foreign  tribunals, — a  thing,  moreover, 
scarcely  practicable  in  time  of  war. 

Charles  the  Fifth,  whose  sagacious  mind  has  left  its 
impress  on  the  permanent  legislation  of  the  Nether 
lands,  saw  the  necessity  of  some  reform  in  this  matter. 
He  accordingly  applied  to  Rome  for  leave  to  erect  six 
bishoprics,  in  addition  to  those  previously  existing  in 
the  country.  But  his  attention  was  too  much  dis 
tracted  by  other  objects  to  allow  time  for  completing 
his  design.  With  his  son  Philip,  on  the  other  hand, 
no  object  was  allowed  to  come  in  competition  with 
the  interests  of  the  Church.  He  proposed  to  make 
the  reform  on  a  larger  scale  than  his  father  had  done, 
and  applied  to  Paul  the  Fourth  for  leave  to  create 
fourteen  bishoprics  and  three  archbishoprics.  The 
chief  difficulty  lay  in  providing  for  the  support  of  the 
new  dignitaries.  On  consultation  with  Granvelle,  who 
had  not  been  advised  of  the  scheme  till  after  Philip's 
application  to  Rome,  it  was  arranged  that  the  income 
4  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  94. 


INCREASE    OF  BISHOPRICS.  355 

should  be  furnished  by  the  abbey  lands  of  the  respective 
dioceses,  and  that  the  abbeys  themselves  should  here 
after  be  placed  under  the  control  of  priors  or  provosts 
depending  altogether  on  the  bishops.  Meanwhile, 
until  the  bulls  should  be  received  from  Rome,  it  was 
determined  to  keep  the  matter  profoundly  secret.  It 
was  easy  to  foresee  that  a  storm  of  opposition  would 
arise,  not  only  among  those  immediately  interested  in 
preserving  the  present  order  of  things,  but  among  the 
great  body  of  the  nobles,  who  would  look  with  an  evil 
eye  on  the  admission  into  their  ranks  of  so  large  a 
number  of  persons  servilely  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  the  crown.5 

Having  concluded  his  arrangements  for  the  internal 
settlement  of  the  country,  Philip  naturally  turned  his 
thoughts  towards  Spain.  He  was  the  more  desirous 
of  returning  thither  from  the  reports  he  received  that 
even  that  orthodox  land  was  becoming  everyday  more 
tainted  with  the  heretical  doctrines  so  rife  in  the  neigh 
boring  countries.  There  were  no  hostilities  to  detain 
him  longer  in  the  Netherlands,  now  that  the  war  with 
France  had  been  brought  to  a  close.  The  provinces, 
as  we  have  already  stated,  had  furnished  the  king  with 
important  aid  for  carrying  on  that  war,  by  the  grant 
of  a  stipulated  annual  tax  for  nine  years.  This  had 
not  proved  equal  to  his  necessities.  It  was  in  vain, 
however,  to  expect  any  further  concessions  from  the 
states.  They  had  borne  not  without  murmurs  the 

5  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  94. — Historia  de  los 
Alborotos  de  Flandes,  por  el  Caballero  Renom  de  Francia,  Senor  de 
Noyelles,  y  Presidente  de  Malinas,  MS. — Meteren,  Hist,  des  Pays- 
Bas,  fol.  31. 


356        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED  BY  PHILIP. 

heavy  burdens  laid  on  them  by  Charles, — a  monarch 
whom  they  loved.  They  bore  still  more  impatiently 
the  impositions  of  a  prince  whom  they  loved  so  little 
as  Philip.  Yet  the  latter  seemed  ready  to  make  any 
sacrifice  of  his  permanent  interests  for  such  temporary 
relief  as  would  extricate  him  from  his  present  embar 
rassments.  His  correspondence  with  Granvelle  on  the 
subject,  unfolding  the  suicidal  schemes  which  he  sub 
mitted  to  that  minister,  might  form  an  edifying  chapter 
in  the  financial  history  of  that  day.6  The  difficulty  of 
carrying  on  the  government  of  the  Netherlands  in  this 
crippled  state  of  the  finances  doubtless  strengthened 
the  desire  of  the  monarch  to  return  to  his  native  land, 
where  the  manners  and  habits  of  the  people  were  so 
much  more  congenial  with  his  own. 

Before  leaving  the  country,  it  was  necessary  to  pro 
vide  a  suitable  person  to  whom  the  reins  of  government 
might  be  intrusted.  The  duke  of  Savoy,  who,  since 
the  emperor's  abdication,  had  held  the  post  of  regent, 
was  now  to  return  to  his  own  dominions,  restored  to 
him  by  the  treaty  of  Cateau-Cambresis.  There  were 
several  persons  who  presented  themselves  for  this  re 
sponsible  office  in  the  Netherlands.  One  of  the  most 
prominent  was  Lamoral,  prince  of  Gavre,  count  of 
Egmont,  the  hero  of  St.  Quentin  and  of  Gravelines. 
The  illustrious  house  from  which  he  was  descended,  his 
chivalrous  spirit,  his  frank  and  generous  bearing,  no 
less  than  his  brilliant  military  achievements,  had  made 

6  See,  in  particular,  the  king's  letter  in  which  he  proposes  to  turn  to 
his  own  account  the  sinking-fund  provided  by  the  states  for  the  dis 
charge  of  the  debt  they  had  already  contracted  for  him,  Papiers  d'£tat 
de  Granvelle,  torn.  v.  p.  594. 


REGENT    OF    THE    NETHERLANDS 


MARGARET  OF  PARMA    REGENT.  357 

him  the  idol  of  the  people.  There  were  some  who  in 
sisted  that  these  achievements  inferred  rather  the  suc 
cessful  soldier  than  the  great  captain,7  and  that,  whatever 
merit  he  could  boast  in  the  field,  it  was  no  proof  of  his 
capacity  for  so  important  a  civil  station  as  that  of  gov 
ernor  of  the  Netherlands.  Yet  it  could  not  be  doubted 
that  his  nomination  would  be  most  acceptable  to  the 
people.  This  did  not  recommend  him  to  Philip. 

Another  candidate  was  Christine,  duchess  of  Lor 
raine,  the  king's  cousin.  The  large  estates  of  her 
house  lay  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Netherlands. 
She  had  shown  her  talent  for  political  affairs  by  the 
part  she  had  taken  in  effecting  the  arrangements  of 
Cateau-Cambresis.  The  prince  of  Orange,  lately  be 
come  a  widower,  was  desirous,  it  was  said,  of  marrying 
her  daughter.  Neither  did  this  prove  a  recommenda 
tion  with  Philip,  who  was  by  no  means  anxious  to  raise 
the  house  of  Orange  higher  in  the  scale,  still  less  to 
intrust  it  with  the  destinies  of  the  Netherlands.  In  a 
word,  the  monarch  had  no  mind  to  confide  the  regency 
of  the  country  to  any  one  of  its  powerful  nobles.8 

The  individual  on  whom  the  king  at  length  decided 
to  bestow  this  mark  of  his  confidence  was  his  half-sister, 
Margaret,  duchess  of  Parma.  She  was  the  natural 
daughter  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  born  about  four  years 
before  his  marriage  with  Isabella  of  Portugal.  Mar 
garet's  mother,  Margaret  Vander  Gheenst,  belonged  to 

7  "  II  Duca  di  Sessa  et  il  Conte  d'Egmont  hano  acquistato  il  nome 
di  Capitani  nuovamente,  perche  una  giornata  vinta  o  per  virtu  o  per 
fortuna,  una  sola  fattione  ben  riuscita,  porta  all'  huomini  riputatione 
et  grandezza."     Relatione  di  Soriano,  MS. 

8  Strada,  De   Bello    Belgico,  lib.  i.  p.  42. — Francia,  Alborotos  de 
Flandes,  MS. — Bentivoglio,  Guerra  di  Fiandra,  p.  25. 


360        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED  BY  PHILIP. 

not  destitute  of  the  kindlier  qualities  which  are  the 
glory  of  her  sex.  Her  disposition  was  good  ;  but  she 
relied  much  on  the  advice  of  others,  and  her  more 
objectionable  acts  may  probably  be  referred  rather  to 
their  influence  than  to  any  inclination  of  her  own. 

Her  understanding  was  excellent,  her  apprehension 
quick.  She  showed  much  versatility  in  accommodating 
herself  to  the  exigencies  of  her  position,  as  well  as 
adroitness  in  the  management  of  affairs,  which  she 
may  have  acquired  in  the  schools  of  Italian  politics. 
In  religion  she  was  as  orthodox  as  Philip  the  Second 
could  desire.  The  famous  Ignatius  Loyola  had  been 
her  confessor  in  early  days.  The  lessons  of  humility 
which  he  inculcated  were  not  lost  on  her,  as  may  be 
inferred  from  the  care  she  took  to  perform  the  cere 
mony,  in  Holy  Week,  of  washing  the  dirty  feet — she 
preferred  them  in  this  condition — of  twelve  poor 
maidens;12  outstripping,  in  this  particular,  the  hu 
mility  of  the  pope  himself.  Such  was  the  character  of 
Margaret,  duchess  of  Parma,  who  now,  in  the  thirty- 
eighth  year  of  her  age,  was  called,  at  a  most  critical 
period,  to  take  the  helm  of  the  Netherlands. 

The  appointment  seems  to  have  given  equal  satisfac 
tion  to  herself  and  to  her  husband,  and  no  objection 
was  made  to  Philip's  purpose  of  taking  back  with  him 
to  Castile  their  little  son,  Alexander  Farnese, — a  name 
destined  to  become  in  later  times  so  renowned  in  the 
Netherlands.  The  avowed  purpose  was  to  give  the  boy 
a  training  suited  to  his  rank,  under  the  eye  of  Philip; 

"  "  Oh  earn  causam  singulis  annis.  turn  in  sanction  hebdomndu, 
duodenis  pauperibus  puellis  pedes  (quos  a  sordibus  purgatos  ant& 
vetuerat)  abluebat."  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  lib.  i.  p.  53. 


MARGARET  OF  PARMA   REGENT.  361 

combined  with  which,  according  to  the  historian,  was 
the  desire  of  holding  a  hostage  for  the  fidelity  of  Mar 
garet  and  of  her  husband,  whose  dominions  in  Italy  lay 
contiguous  to  those  of  Philip  in  that  country.13 

Early  in  June,  1559,  Margaret  of  Parma,  having 
reached  the  Low  Countries,  made  her  entrance  in 
great  state  into  Brussels,  where  Philip  awaited  her, 
surrounded  by  his  whole  court  of  Spanish  and  Flemish 
nobles.  The  duke  of  Savoy  was  also  present,  as  well 
as  Margaret's  husband,  the  duke  of  Parma,  then  in 
attendance  on  Philip.  The  appointment  of  Margaret 
was  not  distasteful  to  the  people  of  the  Netherlands, 
for  she  was  their  countrywoman,  and  her  early  days 
had  been  passed  among  them.  Her  presence  was  not 
less  welcome  to  Philip,  who  looked  forward  with  eager 
ness  to  the  hour  of  his  departure.  His  first  purpose 
was  to  present  the  new  regent  to  the  nation,  and  for 
this  he  summoned  a  meeting  of  the  states-general  at 
Ghent  in  the  coming  August. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  July  he  repaired  with  his 
court  to  this  ancient  capital,  which  still  smarted  under 
the  effects  of  that  chastisement  of  his  father,  which, 
terrible  as  it  was,  had  not  the  power  to  break  the 
spirits  of  the  men  of  Ghent.  The  presence  of  the 
court  was  celebrated  with  public  rejoicings,  which 
continued  for  three  days,  during  which  Philip  held  a 
chapter  of  the  Golden  Fleece  for  the  election  of  four 
teen  knights.  The  ceremony  was  conducted  with  the 
magnificence  with  which  the  meetings  of  this  illus- 

J3  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  lib.  i.  pp.  46-53,  543.— Cabrera,  Filipe 
Segundo,  lib.  v.  cap.  2. — Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn, 
ii.  p.  13- 

Philip.— VOL.  I.— Q  31 


362        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED   BY  PHILIP. 

trious  order  were  usually  celebrated.  It  was  memor 
able  as  the  last  chapter  of  it  ever  held.14  Founded  by 
the  dukes  of  Burgundy,  .the  order  of  the  Golden 
Fleece  drew  its  members  immediately  from  the  no 
bility  of  the  Netherlands.  When  the  Spanish  sove 
reign,  who  remained  at  its  head,  no  more  resided  in 
the  country,  the  chapters  were  discontinued,  and  the 
knights  derived  their  appointment  from  the  simple 
nomination  of  the  monarch. 

On  the  eighth  of  August  the  states-general  assembled 
at  Ghent.  The  sturdy  burghers  who  took  their  seats  in 
this  body  came  thither  in  no  very  friendly  temper  to 
the  government.  Various  subjects  of  complaint  had 
long  been  rankling  in  their  bosoms,  and  now  found 
vent  in  the  form  of  animated  and  angry  debate.  The 
people  had  been  greatly  alarmed  by  the  avowed  policy 
of  their  rulers  to  persevere  in  the  system  of  religious 
persecution,  as  shown  especially  by  the  revival  of  the 
ancient  edicts  against  heresy  and  in  support  of  the  In 
quisition.  Rumors  had  gone  abroad,  probably  with 
exaggeration,  of  the  proposed  episcopal  reforms.  How 
ever  necessary,  they  were  now  regarded  only  as  part  of 
the  great  scheme  of  persecution.  Different  nations,  it 
was  urged,  required  to  be  guided  by  different  laws. 
What  suited  the  Spaniards  would  not  for  that  reason 
suit  the  people  of  the  Netherlands.  The  Inquisition 
was  ill  adapted  to  men  accustomed  from  their  cradles 
to  freedom  of  thought  and  action.  Persecution  was 
not  to  be  justified  in  matters  of  conscience,  and  men 
were  not  to  be  reclaimed  from  spiritual  error  by  vio 
lence,  but  by  gentleness  and  persuasion. 

M  Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  21. 


MEETING   OF  THE   STATES-GENERAL.      363 

But  what  most  called  forth  the  invective  of  the 
Flemish  orators  was  the  presence  of  a  large  body  of 
foreign  troops  in  the  country.  When  Philip  disbanded 
his  forces  after  the  French  war  had  terminated,  there 
still  remained  a  corps  of  the  old  Spanish  infantry, 
amounting  to  some  three  or  four  thousand,  which  he 
thought  proper  to  retain  in  the  western  provinces. 
His  avowed  object  was  to  protect  the  country  from 
any  violence  on  the  part  of  the  French.  Another 
reason  assigned  by  him  was  the  difficulty  of  raising 
funds  to  pay  their  arrears.  The  true  motive,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  states,  was  to  enforce  the  execution  of 
the  new  measures  and  overcome  any  resistance  that 
might  be  made  in  the  country.  These  troops,  like 
most  of  the  soldiers  of  that  day,  who  served  for  plun 
der  quite  as  much  as  for  pay,  had  as  little  respect  for 
the  rights  or  the  property  of  their  allies  as  for  those 
of  their  enemies.  They  quartered  themselves  on  the 
peaceful  inhabitants  of  the  country,  and  obtained  full 
compensation  for  loss  of  pay  by  a  system  of  rapine 
and  extortion  that  beggared  the  people  and  drove 
them  to  desperation.  Conflicts  with  the  soldiery  oc 
casionally  occurred,  and  in  some  parts  the  peasantry 
even  refused  to  repair  the  dikes,  in  order  to  lay  the 
country  under  water  rather  than  submit  to  such  out 
rages !  "  How  is  it,"  exclaimed  the  bold  syndic  of 
Ghent,  "  that  we  find  foreign  soldiers  thus  quartered 
on  us,  in  open  violation  of  our  liberties?  Are  not  our 
own  troops  able  to  protect  us  from  the  dangers  of 
invasion?  Must  we  be  ground  to  the  dust  by  the 
exactions  of  these  mercenaries  in  peace,  after  being 
burdened  with  the  maintenance  of  them  in  war?" 


364        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED   BY  PHILIP. 

These  remonstrances  were  followed  by  a  petition  to 
the  throne,  signed  by  members  of  the  other  orders  as 
well  as  the  commons,  requesting  that  the  king  would 
be  graciously  pleased  to  respect  the  privileges  of  the 
nation  and  send  back  the  foreign  troops  to  their  own 
homes. 

Philip,  who  sat  in  the  assembly  with  his  sister,  the 
future  regent,  by  his  side,  was  not  prepared  for  this 
independent  spirit  in  the  burghers  of  the  Netherlands. 
The  royal  ear  had  been  little  accustomed  to  this  strain 
of  invective  from  the  subject.  For  it  was  rare  that  the 
tone  of  remonstrance  was  heard  in  the  halls  of  Cas- 
tilian  legislation,  since  the  power  of  the  commons  had 
been  broken  on  the  field  of  Villalar.  Unable  or  un 
willing  to  conceal  his  displeasure,  the  king  descended 
from  his  throne  and  abruptly  quitted  the  assembly.15 

Yet  he  did  not,  like  Charles  the  First  of  England, 
rashly  vent  his  indignation  by  imprisoning  or  perse 
cuting  the  members  who  had  roused  it.  Even  the  stout 
syndic  of  Ghent  was  allowed  to  go  unharmed.  Philip 
looked  above  him  to  a  mark  more  worthy  of  his  anger, 
— to  those  of  the  higher  orders  who  had  encouraged 
the  spirit  of  resistance  in  the  commons.  The  most 
active  of  these  malecontents  was  William  of  Orange. 
That  noble,  as  it  may  be  remembered,  was  one  of  the 
hostages  who  remained  at  the  court  of  Henry  the 
Second  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  treaty  of  Cateau-Cam  - 
bresis.  While  there,  a  strange  disclosure  was  made  to 

xs  Bentivoglio,  Guerra  di  Fiandra,  p.  27,  et  seq. — Cabrera,  Filipe 
Segundo,  lib.  v.  cap.  2. — Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  lib.  i.  p.  57. — Van- 
dervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  22. — Meteren,  Hist,  des 
Pays-Bas,  fol.  24.— Schiller,  Abfall  der  Niederlande,  p.  84. 


THEIR   SPIRITED    CONDUCT.  365 

the  prince  by  the  French  monarch,  who  told  him  that, 
through  the  duke  of  Alva,  a  secret  treaty  had  been 
entered  into  with  his  master,  the  king  of  Spain,  for 
the  extirpation  of  heresy  throughout  their  dominions. 
This  inconsiderate  avowal  of  the  French  king  was 
made  to  William  on  the  supposition  that  he  was  stanch 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  and  entirely  in  his  mas 
ter's  confidence.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  prince's 
claims  to  orthodoxy  at  this  period,  it  is  certain  he 
was  not  in  Philip's  confidence.  It  is  equally  certain 
that  he  possessed  one  Christian  virtue  which  belonged 
neither  to  Philip  nor  to  Henry, — the  virtue  of  tolera 
tion.  Greatly  shocked  by  the  intelligence  he  had 
received,  William  at  once  communicated  it  to  several 
of  his  friends  in  the  Netherlands.  One  of  the  letters, 
unfortunately,  fell  into  Philip's  hands.  The  prince 
soon  after  obtained  permission  to  return  to  his  own 
country,  bent,  as  he  tells  us  in  his  Apology,  on  ridding 
it  of  the  Spanish  vermin.16  Philip,  who  understood  the 
temper  of  his  mind,  had  his  eye  on  his  movements, 
and  knew  well  to  what  source,  in  part  at  least,  he  was 
to  attribute  the  present  opposition.  It  was  not  long 
after  that  a  Castilian  courtier  intimated  to  the  prince 
of  Orange  and  to  Egmont  that  it  would  be  well  for 
them  to  take  heed  to  themselves, — that  the  names  of 
those  who  had  signed  the  petition  for  the  removal  of 
the  troops  had  been  noted  down,  and  that  Philip  and 
his  council  were  resolved,  when  a  fitting  occasion 

16  "  Je  confesse  que  je  fus  tellement  esmeu  de  pitie  et  de  compassion 
que  des  lors  j'entrepris  a  bon  escient  d'ayder  a  faire  chasser  cette 
vermine  d'Espaignols  hors  de  ce  Pays."  Apology  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  ap.  Dumont,  Corps  diplomatique,  torn.  v.  p.  392. 


366        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED  BY  PHILIP. 

offered,  to  call  them  to  a  heavy  reckoning  for  their 
temerity.17 

Yet  the  king  so  far  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  the 
people  as  to  promise  the  speedy  departure  of  the 
troops.  But  no  power  on  earth  could  have  been 
strong  enough  to  shake  his  purpose  where  the  interests 
of  religion  were  involved.  Nor  would  he  abate  one 
jot  of  the  stern  provisions  of  the  edicts.  When  one 
of  his  ministers,  more  hardy  than  the  rest,  ventured  to 
suggest  to  him  that  perseverance  in  this  policy  might 
cost  him  the  sovereignty  of  the  provinces,  "Better  not 
reign  at  all,"  he  answered,  "than  reign  over  here 
tics  !" l8 — an  answer  extolled  by  some  as  the  height  of 
the  sublime,  by  others  derided  as  the  extravagance  of 
a  fanatic.  In  whatever  light  we  view  it,  it  must  be 
admitted  to  furnish  the  key  to  the  permanent  policy 
of  Philip  in  his  government  of  the  Netherlands. 

Before  dissolving  the  states-general,  Philip,  un 
acquainted  with  the  language  of  the  country,  ad 
dressed  the  deputies  through  the  mouth  of  the  bishop 
of  Arras.  He  expatiated  on  the  warmth  of  his  attach 
ment  to  his  good  people  of  the  Netherlands,  and  paid 
them  a  merited  tribute  for  their  loyalty  both  to  his 
father  and  to  himself.  He  enjoined  on  them  to  show 
similar  respect  to  the  regent,  their  own  countrywoman, 

*7  "  Que  le  Roi  et  son  Conseil  avoyent  arreste"  que  tous  ceux  qui 
avoient  consenti  et  signe  la  Requeste,  par  laquelle  on  demandoit  que 
la  Gendarmerie  Espaignolle  s'en  allast,  qu'on  auroit  souvenance  de 
les  chastier  avec  le  temps,  et  quand  la  commodite"  s'en  presenteroit,  et 
qu'il  les  en  advertissoit  comme  amy."  Meteren,  Hist,  des  Pays-Bas, 
fol.  25. 

18  "  Che  egli  voleva  piuttosto  restar  senza  regni,  che  possedergli  con 
1  eresia."  Bentivoglio,  Guerra  di  Fiandra,  p.  31. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE   COUNCILS.        367 

into  whose  hands  he  had  committed  the  government. 
They  would  reverence  the  laws  and  maintain  public 
tranquillity.  Nothing  would  conduce  to  this  so  much 
as  the  faithful  execution  of  the  edicts.  It  was  their 
sacred  duty  to  aid  in  the  extermination  of  heretics, — 
the  deadliest  foes  both  of  God  and  their  sovereign. 
Philip  concluded  by  assuring  the  states  that  he  should 
soon  return  in  person  to  the  Netherlands,  or  send  his 
son  Don  Carlos  as  his  representative. 

The  answer  of  the  legislature  was  temperate  and  re 
spectful.  They  made  no  allusion  to  Philip's  proposed 
ecclesiastical  reforms,  as  he  had  not  authorized  this  by 
any  allusion  to  them  himself.  They  still  pressed,  how 
ever,  the  removal  of  the  foreign  troops,  and  the  further 
removal  of  all  foreigners  from  office,  as  contrary  to  the 
constitution  of  the  land.  This  last  shaft  was  aimed  at 
Granvelle,  who  held  a  high  post  in  the  government 
and  was  understood  to  be  absolute  in  the  confidence 
of  the  king.  Philip  renewed  his  assurances  of  the  dis 
missal  of  the  forces,  and  that  within  the  space,  as  he 
promised,  of  four  months.  The  other  request  of  the 
deputies  he  did  not  condescend  to  notice.  His  feel 
ings  on  the  subject  were  intimated  in  an  exclamation 
he  made  to  one  of  his  ministers:  "I  too  am  a 
foreigner :  will  they  refuse  to  obey  me  as  their 
sovereign?"  I9 

The  regent  was  to  be  assisted  in  the  government  by 
three  councils  which  of  old  time  had  existed  in  the 
land :  the  council  of  finance,  for  the  administration, 

*9  Ranke,  Spanish  Empire,  p.  8 1.— Schiller,  Abfall  der  Niederlande, 
p.  85. — Bentivoglio,  Guerra  di  Fiandra,  p.  27. — Strada,  De  Bello  Bel- 
gico,  p.  57. — Meteren,  Hist,  des  Pays-Bas,  fql.  25. 


368        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED  BY  PHILIP. 

as  the  name  implies,  of  the  revenues ;  the  privy  coun 
cil,  for  affairs  of  justice  and  the  internal  concerns  of 
the  country;  and  the  council  of  state,  for  matters  re 
lating  to  peace  and  war,  and  the  foreign  policy  of  the 
nation.  Into  this  last,  the  supreme  council,  entered 
several  of  the  Flemish  nobles,  and  among  them  the 
prince  of  Orange  and  Count  Egmont.  There  were, 
besides,  Count  Barlaimont,  president  of  the  council 
of  finance,  Viglius,  president  of  the  privy  council,  and 
lastly  Granvelle,  bishop  of  Arras: 

The  regent  was  to  act  with  the  co-operation  of  these 
several  bodies"  in  their  respective  departments.  In  the 
conduct  of  the  government  she  was  to  be  guided  by 
the  council  of  state.  But,  by  private  instructions  of 
Philip,  questions  of  a  more  delicate  nature,  involving 
the  tranquillity  of  the  country,  might  be  first  submitted 
to  a  select  portion  of  this  council ;  and  in  such  cases, 
or  when  a  spirit  of  faction  had  crept  into  the  council, 
the  regent,  if  she  deemed  it  for  the  interest  of  the 
state,  might  adopt  the  opinion  of  the  minority.  The 
select  body  with  whom  Margaret  was  to  advise  in 
the  more  important  matters  was  termed  the  Consulta; 
and  the  members  who  composed  it  were  Barlaimont, 
Viglius,  and  the  bishop  of  Arras.20 

90  The  existence  of  such  a  confidential  body  proved  a  fruitful  source 
of  disaster.  The  names  of  the  parties  who  composed  it  are  not  given 
in  the  instructions  to  the  regent,  which  leave  all  to  her  discretion. 
According  to  Strada,  however,  the  royal  will  in  the  matter  was  plainly 
intimated  by  Philip.  (De  Bello  Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  57.)  Copies  of  the 
regent's  commission,  as  well  as  of  two  documents,  the  one  endorsed 
as  "  private,"  the  other  as  "  secret"  instructions,  and  all  three  bearing 
the  date  of  August  8th,  1559,  are  to  be  found  entire  in  the  Correbpon- 
dance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn,  ii.,  Appendix,  Nos.  2-4. 


RISE  AND    CHARACTER    OF  GRANVELLE.      369 

The  first  of  these  men,  Count  Barlaimont,  belonged 
to  an  ancient  Flemish  family.  With  respectable  talents 
and  constancy  of  purpose,  he  was  entirely  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  the  crown.  The  second,  Viglius,  was 
a  jurist  of  extensive  erudition,  at  this  time  well  ad 
vanced  in  years,  and  with  infirmities  that  might  have 
pressed  heavily  on  a  man  less  patient  of  toil.  He  was 
personally  attached  to  Granvelle ;  and  as  his  views  of 
government  coincided  very  nearly  with  that  minister's, 
Viglius  was  much  under  his  influence.  The  last  of  the 
three,  Granvelle,  from  his  large  acquaintance  with 
affairs,  and  his  adroitness  in  managing  them,  was  far 
superior  to  his  colleagues;21  and  he  soon  acquired  such 
an  ascendency  over  them  that  the  government  may  be 
said  to  have  rested  on  his  shoulders.  As  there  is  no 
man  who  for  some  years  is  to  take  so  prominent  a  part 
in  the  story  of  the  Netherlands,  it  will  be  proper  to 
introduce  the  reader  to  some  acquaintance  with  his 
earlier  history. 

Anthony  Perrenot — whose  name  of  Granvelle  was 
derived  from  an  estate  purchased  by  his  father — was 
born  in  the  year  1517,  at  Besancon,  a  town  in  Franche- 
Comte.  His  father,  Nicholas  Perennot,  founded  the 
fortunes  of  the  family,  and  from  the  humble  condition 
of  a  poor  country  attorney  rose  to  the  rank  of  chan 
cellor  of  the  empire.  This  extraordinary  advancement 
was  not  owing  to  caprice,  but  to  his  unwearied  indus- 

21  "  Ma  non  val  tanto  alcuno  dell'  altri  ne  tutt'  insieme  quanto 
Monsr-  d'  Aras  solo,  il  quale,  per  11  gran  giudicio  che  ha  et  per  la  lunga 
prattica  del  governo  del  mondo,  et  nel  tentar  1'  imprese  grand!  piii 
accorto  et  piu  animoso  di  tutti,  piu  destro  et  piu  sicuro  nel  ma- 
neggiarle,  et  nel  finirle  piu  constante  et  piu  risoluto."  Relatione  di 
Soriano,  MS. 
Q* 


370        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED   BY  PHILIP. 

try,  extensive  learning,  and  a  clear  and  comprehensive 
intellect,  combined  with  steady  devotion  to  the  in 
terests  of  his  master,  Charles  the  Fifth.  His  talent  for 
affairs  led  him  to  be  employed  not  merely  in  official 
business,  but  in  diplomatic  missions  of  great  impor 
tance.  In  short,  he  possessed  the  confidence  of  the 
emperor  to  a  degree  enjoyed  by  no  other  subject ;  and 
when  the  chancellor  died,  in  1550,  Charles  pronounced 
his  eulogy  to  Philip  in  a  single  sentence,  saying  that  in 
Granvelle  they  had  lost  the  man  on  whose  wisdom  they 
could  securely  repose.83 

Anthony  Perrenot,  distinguished  from  his  father  in 
later  times  as  Cardinal  Granvelle,  was  the  eldest  of 
eleven  children.  In  his  childhood  he  discovered  such 
promise  that  the  chancellor  bestowed  much  pains  per 
sonally  on  his  instruction.  At  fourteen  he  was  sent  to 
Padua,  and  after  some  years  was  removed  to  Louvain, 
then  the  university  of  greatest  repute  in  the  Nether 
lands.  It  was  not  till  later  that  the  seminary  of  Douay 
was  founded,  under  the  auspices  of  Philip  the  Second.23 
At  the  university  the  young  Perrenot  soon  distinguished 
himself  by  the  vivacity  of  his  mind,  the  acuteness  of 
his  perceptions,  an  industry  fully  equal  to  his  father's, 
and  remarkable  powers  of  acquisition.  Besides  a  large 
range  of  academic  study,  he  made  himself  master  of 

23  "  Mio  figliuolo,  et  io  e  voi  habbiamo  perso  un  buon  letto  di 
riposo," — literally,  a  good  bed  to  repose  on.  Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo 
II.,  torn.  i.  p.  195. 

23  A  principal  motive  of  Philip  the  Second  in  founding  this  univer 
sity,  according  to  Hopper,  was  to  give  Flemings  the  means  of  getting 
a  knowledge  of  the  French  language  without  going  abroad  into  foreign 
countries  for  it.  Recueil  et  Memorial  des  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas, 
cap.  2,  ap.  Hoynck,  Analecta  Belgica,  torn.  ii. 


RISE  AND    CHARACTER    OF  GRANVELLE. 


371 


seven  languages,  so  as  to  read  and  converse  in  them 
with  fluency.  He  seemed  to  have  little  relish  for  the 
amusements  of  the  youth  of  his  own  age.  His  greatest 
amusement  was  a  book.  Under  this  incessant  applica 
tion  his  health  gave  way,  and  for  a  time  his  studies 
were  suspended. 

Whether  from  his  father's  preference  or  his  own, 
young  Granvelle  embraced  the  ecclesiastical  profes 
sion.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  was  admitted  to 
orders.  The  son  of  the  chancellor  was  not  slow  in  his 
advancement,  and  he  was  soon  possessed  of  several 
good  benefices.  But  the  ambitious  and  worldly  temper 
of  Granvelle  was  not  to  be  satisfied  with  the  humble 
duties  of  the  ecclesiastic.  It  was  not  long  before  he 
was  called  to  court  by  his  father,  and  there  a  brilliant 
career  was  opened  to  his  aspiring  genius. 

The  young  man  soon  showed  such  talent  for  busi 
ness,  and  such  shrewd  insight  into  character,  as, 
combined  with  the  stores  of  learning  he  had  at  his 
command,  made  his  services  of  great  value  to  his 
father.  He  accompanied  the  chancellor  on  some  of 
his  public  missions,  among  others  to  the  Council  of 
Trent,  where  the  younger  Granvelle,  who  had  already 
been  promoted  to  the  see  of  Arras,  first  had  the  oppor 
tunity  of  displaying  that  subtle,  insinuating  eloquence 
which  captivated  as  much  as  it  convinced. 

The  emperor  saw  with  satisfaction  the  promise  af 
forded  by  the  young  statesman,  and  looked  forward 
to  the  time  when  he  would  prove  the  same  pillar  of 
support  to  his  administration  that  his  father  had  been 
before  him.  Nor  was  that  time  far  distant.  As  the 
chancellor's  health  declined,  the  son  became  more 


372        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED   BY  PHILIP. 

intimately  associated  with  his  father  in  the  counsels 
of  the  emperor.  He  justified  this  confidence  by  the 
unwearied  toil  with  which  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
business  of  the  cabinet, — a  toil  to  which  even  night 
seemed  to  afford  no  respite.  He  sometimes  employed 
five  secretaries  at  once,  dictating  to  them  in  as  many 
different  languages.24  The  same  thing,  or  something  as 
miraculous,  has  been  told  of  other  remarkable  men,  both 
before  and  since.  As  a  mere  tour  de  force,  Granvelle 
may  possibly  have  amused  himself  with  it.  But  it  was 
not  in  this  way  that  the  correspondence  was  written 
which  furnishes  the  best  key  to  the  events  of  the  time. 
If  it  had  been  so  written,  it  would  never  have  been 
worth  the  publication. 

Every  evening  Granvelle  presented  himself  before 
the  emperor  and  read  to  him  the  programme  he  had 
prepared  of  the  business  of  the  following  day,  with 
his  own  suggestions.25  The  foreign  ambassadors  who 
resided  at  the  court  were  surprised  to  find  the  new 
minister  so  entirely  in  the  secrets  of  his  master,  and 
that  he  was  as  well  instructed  in  all  their  doings  as  the 
emperor  himself.26  In  short,  the  confidence  of  Charles, 

*4  "  On  remarque  de  lui  ce  qu'on  avoit  remarque  de  Cesar,  et  meme 
d'une  fa9on  plus  singuliere,  c'est  qu'il  oecupoit  cinq  secretaires  a  la 
fois,  en  leur  dictant  des  lettres  en  differentes  langues."  Levesque, 
Memoires  pour  servir  a  1'Histoire  du  Cardinal  de  Granvelle  (Paris, 
1753),  torn.  i.  p.  215. 

25  "  Di  modo  che  ogni  sera  sopra  un  foglio  di  carta  che  lor  chiamano 
beliero  esso  Granvela  manda  all'  Imperatore  il  suo  parere  del  quale 
sopra  li  negotii  del  siguente  giorno  sua  maesta  ha  da  fare."     Relatione 
di  Soriano,  MS. 

26  "  Havendo  prima  lui  senza  risolvere  cosa  alcuna  mandata  ogn" 
informatione  et  ogni  particolare  negotiatione  con  gli  Ambasciatori  et 
altri  ad  esso  Monsignore,  di  modo  che  et  io  et  tutti  gl'  altri  Ambascia- 


XISE  AND    CHARACTER    OF  GRANVELLE.      373 

given  slowly  and  with  much  hesitation,  was  at  length 
bestowed  as  freely  on  the  son  as  it  had  been  on  the 
father.  The  two  Granvelles  may  be  truly  said  to  have 
been  the  two  persons  who  most  possessed  the  confi 
dence  of  the  emperor,  from  the  time  that  he  took  the 
reins  of  government  into  his  own  hands. 

When  raised  to  the  see  of  Arras,  Granvelle  was  but 
twenty-five  years  old.  It  is  rare  that  the  mitre  has 
descended  on  a  man  of  a  more  ambitious  spirit.  Yet 
Granvelle  was  not  averse  to  the  good  things  of  the 
world,  nor  altogether  insensible  to  its  pomps  and  vani 
ties.  He  affected  great  state  in  his  manner  of  living, 
and  thus  necessity,  no  less  than  taste,  led  him  to  covet 
the  possession  of  wealth  as  well  as  of  power.  He  ob 
tained  both  ;  and  his  fortunes  were  rapidly  advancing 
when,  by  the  abdication  of  his  royal  master,  the  sceptre 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Philip  the  Second. 

Charles  recommended  Granvelle  to  his  son  as  every 
way  deserving  of  his  confidence.  Granvelle  knew  that 
the  best  recommendation — the  only  effectual  one — 
must  come  from  himself.  He  studied  carefully  the 
character  of  his  new  sovereign,  and  showed  a  wonder 
ful  flexibility  in  conforming  to  his  humors.  The  am 
bitious  minister  proved  himself  no  stranger  to  those 
arts  by  which  great  minds,  as  well  as  little  ones,  some 
times  condescend  to  push  their  fortunes  in  a  court. 

Yet,  in  truth,  Granvelle  did  not  always  do  violence 
to  his  own  inclinations  in  conforming  to  those  of 
Philip.  Like  the  king,  he  did  not  come  rapidly  to 

tori  si  sono  avveduti  essendo  rimesse  a  Monsignor  Granvela  che  sua 
Eccellenza  ha  inteso  ogni  particolare  et  quasi  ogni  parola  passata  fra 
1'  Imperatore  et  loro."     Relatione  di  Soriano,  MS. 
Philip.— VOL.  I.  32 


374 


SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED   BY  PHILIP. 


results,  but  pondered  long,  and  viewed  a  question  in 
all  its  bearings,  before  arriving  at  a  decision.  He  had, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  same  patient  spirit  of  application 
as  Philip,  so  that  both  may  be  said  to  have  found  their 
best  recreation  in  labor.  Neither  was  he  less  zealous 
than  the  king  for  the  maintenance  of  the  true  faith, 
though  his  accommodating  nature,  if  left  to  itself,  might 
have  sanctioned  a  different  policy  from  that  dictated  by 
the  stern,  uncompromising  spirit  of  his  master. 

Granvelle's  influence  was  further  aided  by  the  charms 
of  his  personal  intercourse.  His  polished  and  insinu 
ating  manners  seem  to  have  melted  even  the  icy  re 
serve  of  Philip.  He  maintained  his  influence  by  his 
singular  tact  in  suggesting  hints  for  carrying  out  his 
master's  policy,  in  such  a  way  that  the  suggestion  might 
seem  to  have  come  from  the  king  himself.  Thus  care 
ful  not  to  alarm  the  jealousy  of  his  sovereign,  he  was 
content  to  forego  the  semblance  of  power  for  the  real 
possession  of  it.27 

It  was  soon  seen  that  he  was  as  well  settled  in  the 
confidence  of  Philip  as  he  had  previously  been  in  that 
of  Charles.*  Notwithstanding  the  apparent  distribution 

«7  A  striking  example  of  the  manner  in  which  Granvelle  conveyed 
his  own  views  to  the  king  is  shown  by  a  letter  to  Philip  dated  Brus 
sels,  July  I7th,  1559,  in  which  the  minister  suggests  the  arguments 
that  might  be  used  to  the  authorities  of  Brabant  for  enforcing  the 
edicts.  The  letter  shows,  too,  that  Granvelle,  if  possessed  naturally 
of  a  more  tolerant  spirit  than  Philip,  could  accommodate  himself  so 
far  to  the  opposite  temper  of  his  master  as  to  furnish  him  with  some 
very  plausible  grounds  for  persecution.  Papiers  d'£tat  de  Granvelle, 
torn.  v.  p.  614.  

*  [This  is  greatly  overstated.  At  the  accession  of  Philip,  and  during 
his  stay  in  the  Netherlands,  Granvelle  found  his  position  very  different 


RISE  AND    CHARACTER    OF  GRANVELLE.      375 

of  power  between  the  regent  and  the  several  councils, 
the  arrangements  made  by  the  king  were  such  as  to 
throw  the  real  authority  into  the  hands  of  Granvelle. 
Thus  the  rare  example  was  afforded  of  the  same  man 
continuing  the  favorite  of  two  successive  sovereigns. 
Granvelle  did  not  escape  the  usual  fate  of  favorites  ; 
and  whether  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  or  that, 
as  some  pretend,  he  did  not  on  his  elevation  bear  his 
faculties  too  meekly,  no  man  was  so  generally  and  so 
heartily  detested  throughout  the  country.28 

28  Levesque,  Memoires  de  Granvelle,  torn.  i.  p.  207,  et  seq. — 
Courchetet,  Histoire  du  Cardinal  de  Granvelle  (Bruxelles,  1784),  torn, 
i.,  passim. — Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  p.  85. — Burgon,  Life  of  Gres- 
ham,  vol.  i.  p.  267. — The  author  of  the  Memoires  de  Granvelle  was 
a  member  of  a  Benedictine  convent  in  Besan9on,  which,  by  a  singular 
chance,  became  possessed  of  the  manuscripts  of  Cardinal  Granvelle 
more  than  a  century  after  his  death.  The  good  Father  Levesque 
made  but  a  very  indifferent  use  of  the  rich  store  of  materials  placed 
at  his  disposal,  by  digesting  them  into  two  duodecimo  volumes,  in 
which  the  little  that  is  of  value  seems  to  have  been  pilfered  from  the 
unpublished  MS.  of  a  previous  biographer  of  the  Cardinal.  The  work 
of  the  Benedictine,  however,  has  the  merit  of  authenticity..  I  shall 
take  occasion  hereafter  to  give  a  more  particular  account  of  the  Gran 
velle  collection. 

from  that  which  he  had  occupied  under  Charles.  The  jealousy  of 
Ruy  Gomez,  the  king's  favorite,  and  of  the  other  Spanish  ministers, 
was  too  watchful  to  allow  the  insinuating  and  serviceable  Francjie- 
comtois  to  obtain  any  personal  influence  with  Philip.  His  opposition 
to  the  war  with  the  pope,  attributed  to  his  desire  for  the  cardinalate, 
increased  the  disfavor  into  which  he  had  fallen.  He  attended  the 
meetings  of  the  council  only  when  summoned,  which  was  very  rarely. 
(See  the  Relazioni  of  Badoero  and  Soriano.)  His  rivals  were  very 
willing  that  he  should  be  left  at  Brussels  as  chief  minister  of  the  regent. 
But  his  own  ambition  was  to  fill  the  same  post  in  the  cabinet  at  Madrid ; 
and  he  attained  this  object  many  years  later,  when  the  situation  of 
affairs  rendered  his  knowledge  and  talents  indispensable. — ED.] 


376        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED  BY  PHILIP. 

Before  leaving  the  Netherlands,  Philip  named  the 
governors  of  the  several  provinces, — the  nominations, 
for  the  most  part,  only  confirming  those  already  in 
office.  Egmont  had  the  governments  of  Flanders  and 
Artois ;  the  prince  of  Orange,  those  of  Holland,  Zea 
land,  Utrecht,  and  West  Friesland.  The  commission 
to  William,  running  in  the  usual  form,  noticed  "the 
good,  loyal,  and  notable  services  he  had  rendered 
both  to  the  emperor  and  his  present  sovereign."29 
The  command  of  two  battalions  of  the  Spanish  army 
was  also  given  to  the  two  nobles, — a  poor  contrivance 
for  reconciling  the  nation  to  the  continuance  of  these 
detested  troops  in  the  country. 

Philip  had  anxiously  waited  for  the  arrival  of  the 
papal  bull  which  was  to  authorize  the  erection  of  the 
bishoprics.  Granvelle  looked  still  more  anxiously  for 
it.  He  had  read  the  signs  of  the  coming  storm,  and 
would  gladly  have  encountered  it  when  the  royal  pres 
ence  might  have  afforded  some  shelter  from  its  fury. 
But  the  court  of  Rome  moved  at  its  usual  dilatory 
"pace,  and  the  apostolic  nuncio  did  not  arrive  with  the 
missive  till  the  eve  of  Philip's  departure, — too  late  for 
him  to  witness  its  publication.30 

Having  completed  all  his  arrangements,  about  the 
middle  of  August  the  king  proceeded  to  Zealand, 
where,  in  the  port  of  Flushing,  lay  a  gallant  fleet, 
waiting  to  take  him  and  the  royal  suite  to  Spain.  It 

=9  "  En  consideration  des  bons,  leaux,  notables  et  agreables  services 
faits  par  lui,  pendant  plusieurs  annees,  a  feu  1'Empereur,  et  depuis  au 
Roi."  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  184. 

3°  Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  69,  et  seq. — 
Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  p.  40. — Hopper,  Recueil  et  Memorial,  cap. 
2. — Francia,  Alborotos  de  Flandes,  MS. 


XISE  AND   CHARACTER    OF  GRANVELLE. 


377 


consisted  of  fifty  Spanish  and  forty  other  vessels, — all 
well  manned,  and  victualled  for  a  much  longer  voy 
age.31  Philip  was  escorted  to  the  place  of  embarkation 
by  a  large  body  of  Flemish  nobles,  together  with  the 
foreign  ambassadors  and  the  duke  and  duchess  of 
Savoy.  A  curious  scene  is  reported  to  have 'taken 
pl.ace  as  he  was  about  to  go  on  board.  Turning  ab 
ruptly  round  to  the  prince  of  Orange,  who  had  attended 
him  on  the  journey,  he  bluntly  accused  him  of  being 
the  true  source  of  the  opposition  which  his  measures 
had  encountered  in  the  states-general.  William,  as 
tonished  at  the  suddenness  of  the  attack,  replied  that 
the  opposition  was  to  be  regarded,  not  as  the  act  of 
an  individual,  but  of  the  states.  "No,"  rejoined  the 
incensed  monarch,  shaking  him  at  the  same  time  vio 
lently  by  the  wrist,  "not  the  states,  but  you,  you, 
you  !"32  an  exclamation  deriving  additional  bitterness 
from  the  fact  that  the  wordyvu,  thus  employed,  in  the 
Castilian  was  itself  indicative  of  contempt.  William 
did  not  think  it  prudent  to  reply,  nor  did  he  care  to 
trust  himself  with  the  other  Flemish  lords  on  board 
the  royal  squadron.33 

3*  The  royal  larder  seems  to  have  been  well  supplied  in  the  article 
of  poultry,  to  judge  from  one  item,  mentioned  byMeteren,  of  fifteen 
thousand  capons.  Hist,  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  i.  fol.  25. 

32  "  Le  Roi  le  prenant  par  le  poignet,  et  le  lui  secoiiant,  repliqua  en 
Espagnol,  No  los  Estados,  mas  vos,  vos,  vos,  repetant  ce  vos  par  trois 
fois,  terme  de  mepris  chez  les  Espagnols,  qui  veut  dire  toy,  toy  en 
Fran9ois."     Auberi,  Memoires  pour  servir  a  1'Histoire  d'Hollande  et 
des  autres  Provinces-Unies  (Paris,  1711),  p.  7. 

33  One  might  wish  the  authority  for  this  anecdote  better  than  it  is, 
considering  that  it  is  contradicted  by  the  whole  tenor  of  Philip's  life, 
in  which  self-command  was  a  predominant  trait.   The  story  was  origi 
nally  derived  from  Auberi  (loc.  cit.).     The  chronicler  had  it,  as  he 

32* 


3 78        SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED   BY  PHILIP. 

The  royal  company  being  at  length  all  on  board, 
on  the  twentieth  of  August,  1559,  the  fleet  weighed 
anchor;  and  Philip,  taking  leave  of  the  duke  and 
duchess  of  Savoy,  and  the  rest  of  the  noble  train  who 
attended  his  embarkation,  was  soon  wafted  from  the 
shores, — to  which  he  was  never  to  return. 

tells  us,  from  his  father,  to  whom  it  was  told  by  an  intimate  friend  of 
the  prince  of  Orange,  who  was  present  at  the  scene.  Auberi,  though 
a  dull  writer,  was,  according  to  Voltaire's  admission,  well  informed, — 
"  £crivain  mediocre,  mais  fort  instruit."* 


*  [Had  Auberi  been  a  "well  informed"  writer,  he  would  not  have 
represented  the  use  of  the  pronoun  of  the  second  person  plural,  in  a 
case  like  the  present,  as  a  mark  of  contempt,  since  this  was  the  mode 
in  which  the  Spanish  sovereigns  invariably  addressed  a  subject,  of 
whatever  rank.  It  is  thus  that  Philip  addresses  Cardinal  Granvelle 
in  his  letters,  and  that  he  himself  was  addressed  by  Charles  V.  A 
stronger  objection  to  the  story  itself  is  its  inconsistency  with  the  tone 
of  the  letters  exchanged  between  Philip  and  the  prince  of  Orange 
soon  after  the  former's  arrival  in  Spain.  From  these,  as  well  as  from 
the  other  correspondence  of  the  time,  it  is  clear  not  only  that  no  open 
breach  had  yet  occurred,  but  that  the  king  was  still  far  from  having 
penetrated  the  real  feelings  and  designs  of  the  most  profound  dis 
sembler — as  well  as  greatest  and  most  patriotic  statesman — of  the  age. 

-ED.]  

Luc-Jean-Joseph  Vandervynckt,  to  whom  I  have  repeatedly  had 
occasion  to  refer  in  the  course  of  the  preceding  chapter,  was  a  Flem 
ing, — born  at  Ghent  in  1691.  He  was  educated  to  the  law,  became 
eminent  in  his  profession,  and  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  was  made  a 
member  of  the  council  of  Flanders.  He  employed  his  leisure  in 
studying  the  historical  antiquities  of  his  own  country.  At  the  sug 
gestion  of  Coblentz,  prime  minister  of  Maria  Theresa,  he  compiled 
his  work  on  the  Troubles  of  the  Netherlands.  It  was  designed  for 
the  instruction  of  the  younger  branches  of  the  imperial  family,  and 
six  copies  only  of  it  were  at  first  printed,  in  1765.  Since  the  author's 
death,  which  took  place  in  1779,  when  he  had  reached  the  great  age 
of  eighty-eight,  the  work  has  been  repeatedly  published. 


VANDER  VYNCKT.  379 

As  Vandervynckt  had  the  national  archives  thrown  open  to  his 
inspection,  he  had  access  to  the  most  authentic  sources  of  informa 
tion.  He  was  a  man  of  science  and  discernment,  fair-minded,  and 
temperate  in  his  opinions,  which  gives  value  to  a  book  that  contains, 
moreover,  much  interesting  anecdote,  not  elsewhere  to  be  found.  The 
work,  though  making  only  four  volumes,  covers  a  large  space  of  his 
torical  ground, — from  the  marriage  of  Philip  the  Fair,  in  1495,  to  the 
peace  of  Westphalia,  in  1648.  Its  literary  execution  is  by  no  means 
equal  to  its  other  merits.  The  work  is  written  in  French ;  but  Van 
dervynckt,  unfortunately,  while  he  both  wrote  and  spoke  Flemish, 
and  even  Latin,  with  facility,  was  but  indifferently  acquainted  with 
French. 


CHAPTER    III. 

PROTESTANTISM   IN    SPAIN. 

Philip's  Arrival  in  Spain. — The  Reformed  Doctrines. — Their  Sup 
pression. — Autos  de  Fe. — Prosecution  of  Carranza. — Extinction  of 
Heresy. — Fanaticism  of  the  Spaniards. 

I559- 

THE  voyage  of  King  Philip  was  a  short  and  pros 
perous  one.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  August,  1559,  he 
arrived  off  the  port  of  Laredo.  But  while  he  was  in 
sight  of  land,  the  weather,  which  had  been  so  pro 
pitious,  suddenly  changed.  A  furious  tempest  arose, 
which  scattered  his  little  navy.  Nine  of  the  vessels 
foundered,  and  though  the  monarch  had  the  good  for 
tune,  under  the  care  of  an  experienced  pilot,  to  make 
his  escape  in  a  boat  and  reach  the  shore  in  safety,  he 
had  the  mortification  to  see  the  ship  which  had  borne 
him  go  down  with  the  rest,  and  with  her  the  inestima 
ble  cargo  he  had  brought  from  the  Low  Countries.  It 
consisted  of  curious  furniture,  tapestries,  gems,  pieces 
of  sculpture,  and  paintings, — the  rich  productions  of 
Flemish  and  Italian  art,  which  his  father,  the  emperor, 
had  been  employed  many  years  of  his  life  in  collecting. 
Truly  was  it  said  of  Charles  that  "he  had  sacked  the 
land  only  to  feed  the  ocean."  *  To  add  to  the  calamity, 

1  "  Carlo  V.  haueua  saccheggiato  la  Terra,  per  arrichirne  il  Mare." 
Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  335. 


THE   REFORMED   DOCTRINES.  381 

more  than  a  thousand  persons  perished  in  this  ship 
wreck.8 

The  king,  without  delay,  took  the  road  to  Vallado- 
lid  ;  but  on  arriving  at  that  capital,  whether  depressed 
by  his  late  disaster,  or  from  his  habitual  dislike  of  such 
empty  parade,  he  declined  the  honors  with  which  the 
loyal  inhabitants  would  have  greeted  the  return  of  their 
sovereign  to  his  dominions.  Here  he  was  cordially 
welcomed  by  his  sister,  the  Regent  Joanna,  who,  long 
since  weary  of  the  cares  of  sovereignty,  resigned  the 
sceptre  into  his  hands  with  a  better  will  than  that  with 
which  most  persons  would  have  received  it.  Here, 
too,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  embracing  his  son 
Carlos,  the  heir  to  his  empire.  The  length  of  Philip's 
absence  may  have  allowed  him  to  see  some  favorable 
change  in  the  person  of  the  young  prince,  though,  if 
report  be  true,  there  was  little  change  for  the  better  in 
his  disposition,  which,  headstrong  and  imperious,  had 
already  begun  to  make  men  tremble  for  the  future 
destinies  of  their  country. 

Philip  had  not  been  many  days  in  Valladolid  when 
his  presence  was  celebrated  by  one  of  those  exhibitions 
which,  unhappily  for  Spain,  may  be  called  national. 
This  was  an  auto  de  fe,  not,  however,  as  formerly,  of 
Jews  and  Moors,  but  of  Spanish  Protestants.  The 
Reformation  had  been  silently,  but  not  slowly,  ad 
vancing  in  the  Peninsula ;  and  intelligence  of  this,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  was  one  cause  of  Philip's  abrupt 
departure  from  the  Netherlands.  The  brief  but  dis- 

2  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  v.  cap.  3. — Sepulveda,  De  Rebus 
gestis  Philippi  II.,  Opera,  torn.  iii.  p.  53. — Leti,  Vita  di  Filippo  II., 
torn.  i.  p.  335. 


382  PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 

astrous  attempt  at  a  religious  revolution  in  Spain  is  an 
event  of  too  much  importance  to  be  passed  over  in 
silence  by  the  historian. 

Notwithstanding  the  remote  position  of  Spain,  under 
the  imperial  sceptre  of  Charles  she  was  brought  too 
closely  into  contact  with  the  other  states  of  Europe 
not  to  feel  the  shock  of  the  great  religious  reform 
which  was  shaking  those  states  to  their  foundations. 
Her  most  intimate  relations,  indeed,  were  with  those 
very  countries  in  which  the  seeds  of  the  Reformation 
were  first  planted.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for 
Spaniards,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  to  be  indebted 
for  some  portion  of  their  instruction  to  German  uni 
versities.  Men  of  learning,  who  accompanied  the  em 
peror,  became  familiar  with  the  religious  doctrines 
so  widely  circulated  in  Germany  and  Flanders.  The 
troops  gathered  the  same  doctrines  from  the  Lutheran 
soldiers  who  occasionally  served  with  them  under  the 
imperial  banners.  These  opinions,  crude  for  the  most 
part  as  they  were,  they  brought  back  to  their  own 
country;  and  a  curiosity  was  roused  which  prepared 
the  mind  for  the  reception  of  the  great  truths  which 
were  quickening  the  other  nations  of  Europe.  Men 
of  higher  education,  on  their  return  to  Spain,  found 
the  means  of  disseminating  these  truths.  Secret  so 
cieties  were  established;  meetings  were  held;  and,  with 
the  same  secrecy  as  in  the  days  of  the  early  Christians, 
the  gospel  was  preached  and  explained  to  the  growing 
congregation  of  the  faithful.  The  greatest  difficulty  was 
the  want  of  books.  The  enterprise  of  a  few  self-devoted 
proselytes  at  length  overcame  this  difficulty. 

A  Castilian  version  of  the  Bible  had  been  printed  in 


THE   REFORMED  DOCTRINES.  383 

Germany.  Various  Protestant  publications,  whether 
originating  in  the  Castilian  or  translated  into  that 
language,  appeared  in  the  same  country.  A  copy  now 
and  then,  in  the  possession  of  some  private  individual, 
had  found  its  way,  without  detection,  across  the  Pyre 
nees.  These  instances  were  rare,  when  a  Spaniard 
named  Juan  Hernandez,  resident  in  Geneva,  where  he 
followed  the  business  of  a  corrector  of  the  press,  un 
dertook,  from  no  other  motive  but  zeal  for  the  truth, 
to  introduce  a  larger  supply  of  the  forbidden  fruit  into 
his  native  land. 

With  great  adroitness,  he  evaded  the  vigilance  of 
the  custom-house  officers  and  the  more  vigilant  spies 
of  the  Inquisition,  and  in  the  end  succeeded  in  land 
ing  two  large  casks  filled  with  prohibited  works,  which 
were  quickly  distributed  among  the  members  of  the 
infant  church.  Other  intrepid  converts  followed  the 
example  of  Hernandez,  and  with  similar  success;  so 
that,  with  the  aid  of  books  and  spiritual  teachers,  the 
number  of  the  faithful  multiplied  daily  throughout  the 
country.3  Among  this  number  was  a  much  larger  pro- 

3  The  editors  of  the  "  Documentos  ineditos  para  la  Historia  de 
Espana,"  in  a  very  elaborate  notice  of  the  prosecution  of  Archbishop 
Carranza,  represent  the  literary  intercourse  between  the  German  and 
Spanish  Protestants  as  even  more  extensive  than  it  is  stated  to  be  in 
the  text.  According  to  them,  a  regular  depot  was  established  at 
Medina  del  Campo  and  Seville  for  the  sale  of  the  forbidden  books 
at  very  low  rates:  "  De  las  imprentas  de  Alemania  se  despachaban 
d  Flandes,  y  desde  alii  a  Espana,  al  principio  por  los  puertos  de  mar, 
y  despues  cuando  ya  hubo  mas  vigilancia  de  parte  del  gobierno,  los 
enviaban  a  Leon  de  Francia  desde  donde  se  introducian  en  la  penin 
sula  por  Navarra  y  Aragon.  Un  tal  Vilman  librero  de  Amberes  tenia 
tienda  en  Medina  del  campo  y  en  Sevilla  donde  vendia  las  obras  de 
los  protestantes  en  espanol  y  latin.  Estos  libros  de  Francfort  se  daban 


384  PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 

portion,  it  was  observed,  of  persons  of  rank  and  educa 
tion  than  is  usually  found  in  like  cases;  owing  doubtless 
to  the  circumstance  that  it  was  this  class  of  persons 
who  had  most  frequented  the  countries  where  the 
Lutheran  doctrines  were  taught.  Thus  the  Reformed 
Church  grew  and  prospered,  not  indeed  as  it  had 
prospered  in  the  freer  atmospheres  of  Germany  and 
Britain,  but  as  well  as  it  could  possibly  do  under  the 
blighting  influence  of  the  Inquisition ;  like  some  ten 
der  plant,  which,  nurtured  in  the  shade,  waits  only  for 
a  more  genial  season  for  its  full  expansion.  That  season 
was  not  in  reserve  for  it  in  Spain. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  spread  of  the  Reformed 
religion  should  so  long  have  escaped  the  detection  of 
the  agents  of  the  Holy  Office.  Yet  it  is  certain  that 
the  first  notice  which  the  Spanish  inquisitors  received 
of  the  fact  was  from  their  brethren  abroad.  Some 
ecclesiastics  in  the  train  of  Philip,  suspecting  the 
heresy  of  several  of  their  own  countrymen  in  the 
Netherlands,  had  them  seized  and  sent  to  Spain,  to 
be  examined  by  the  Inquisition.  On  a  closer  inves 
tigation,  it  was  found  that  a  correspondence  had  long 
been  maintained  between  these  persons  and  their 
countrymen,  of  a  similar  persuasion  with  themselves, 
at  home.  Thus  the  existence,  though  not  the  extent, 
of  the  Spanish  Reformation  was  made  known.4 

&  buen  mercado  para  que  circulasen  con  mayor  facilidad."  Docu- 
mentos  ine'ditos,  torn.  v.  p.  399. 

4  For  the  preceding  pages,  see  Llorente,  Histoire  de  1'Inquisition 
d'Espagne,  torn.  ii.  p.  282,  torn.  iii.  pp.  191,  258. — Montanus,  Dis 
covery  and  playne  Declaration  of  sundry  subtill  Practises  of  the  Holy 
Inquisition  of  Spayne  (London,  1569),  p.  73. — Sepulveda,  Opera, 
torn.  iii.  p.  54. 


SUPPRESSION  OF  THE   REFORM.  385 

No  sooner  was  the  alarm  sounded  than  Paul  the 
Fourth,  quick  to  follow  up  the  scent  of  heresy  in  any 
quarter  of  his  pontifical  dominions,  issued  a  brief,  in 
February,  1558,  addressed  to  the  Spanish  inquisitor- 
general.  In  this  brief,  his  holiness  enjoins  it  on  the 
head  of  the  tribunal  to  spare  no  efforts  to  detect  and 
exterminate  the  growing  evil ;  and  he  empowers  that 
functionary  to  arraign  and  bring  to  condign  punish 
ment  all  suspected  of  heresy,  of  whatever  rank  or 
profession, — whether  bishops  or  archbishops,  nobles, 
kings,  or  emperors.  Paul  the  Fourth  was  fond  of  con 
templating  himself  as  seated  in  the  chair  of  the  In 
nocents  and  the  Gregories,  and  like  them  setting  his 
pontifical  foot  on  the  necks  of  princes.  His  natural 
arrogance  was  probably  not  diminished  by  the  conces 
sions  which  Philip  the  Second  had  thought  proper  to 
make  to  him  at  the  close  of  the  Roman  war. 

Philip,  far  from  taking  umbrage  at  the  swelling 
tone  of  this  apostolical  mandate,  followed  it  up,  in 
the  same  year,  by  a  monstrous  edict,  borrowed  from 
one  in  the  Netherlands,  which  condemned  all  who 
bought,  sold,  or  read  prohibited  works  to  be  burned 
alive. 

In  the  following  January,  Paul,  to  give  greater  effi 
cacy  to  this  edict,  published  another  bull,  in  which  he 
commanded  all  confessors,  under  pain  of  excommuni 
cation,  to  enjoin  on  their  penitents  to  inform  against 
all  persons,  however  nearly  allied  to  them,  who  might 
be  guilty  of  such  practices.  To  quicken  the  zeal  of 
the  informer,  Philip,  on  his  part,  revived  a  law  fallen 
somewhat  into  disuse,  by  which  the  accuser  was  to 
receive  one-fourth  of  the  confiscated  property  of  the 
Philip.— VOL.  I.— R  33 


386  PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 

convicted  party.  And,  finally,  a  third  bull  from  Paul 
allowed  the  inquisitors  to  withhold  a  pardon  from  the 
recanting  heretic  if  any  doubt  existed  of  his  sincerity; 
thus  placing  the  life  as  well  as  fortune  of  the  unhappy 
prisoner  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  judges  who  had  an 
obvious  interest  in  finding  him  guilty.  In  this  way 
the  pope  and  the  king  continued  to  play  into  each 
other's  hands,  and  while  his  holiness  artfully  spread 
the  toils,  the  king  devised  the  means  for  driving  the 
quarry  into  them.3 

Fortunately  for  these  plans,  the  Inquisition  was  at 
this  time  under  the  direction  of  a  man  peculiarly  fitted 
to  execute  them.  This  was  Fernando  Valdes,  cardinal- 
archbishop  of  Seville,  a  person  of  a  hard,  inexorable 
nature,  and  possessed  of  as  large  a  measure  of  fanati 
cism  as  ever  fell  to  a  grand  inquisitor  since  the  days 
of  Torquemada.  Valdes  readily  availed  himself  of  the 
terrible  machinery  placed  under  his  control.  Careful 
not  to  alarm  the  suspected  parties,  his  approaches  were 
slow  and  stealthy.  He  was  the  chief  of  a  tribunal 
which  sat  in  darkness  and  which  dealt  by  invisible 
agents.  He  worked  long  and  silently  under  ground 
before  firing  the  mine  which  was  to  bury  his  enemies 
in  a  general  ruin. 

His  spies  were  everywhere  abroad,  mingling  with 
the  suspected  and  insinuating  themselves  into  their 
confidence.  At  length,  by  the  treachery  of  some, 
and  by  working  on  the  nervous  apprehensions  or  the 
religious  scruples  of  others,  he  succeeded  in  detecting 
the  lurking-places  of  the  new  heresy  and  the  extent 

$  Llorente,  Hist,  de  1' Inquisition  d'Espagne,  torn.  i.  pp.  470,  471, 
torn.  ii.  pp.  183.  184,  215-217. 


SUPPRESSION  OF   THE   REFORM.  387 

of  ground  which  it  covered.  This  was  much  larger 
than  had  been  imagined,  although  the  Reformation 
in  Spain  seemed  less  formidable  from  the  number  of 
its  proselytes  than  from  their  character  and  posi 
tion.  Many  of  them  were  ecclesiastics,  especially  in 
trusted  with  maintaining  the  purity  of  the  faith.  The 
quarters  in  which  the  heretical  doctrines  most  pre 
vailed  were  Aragon,  which  held  an  easy  communica 
tion  with  the  Huguenots  of  France,  and  the  ancient 
cities  of  Seville  and  Valladolid,  indebted  less  to  any 
local  advantages  than  to  the  influence  of  a  few  emi 
nent  men  who  had  early  embraced  the  faith  of  the 
Reformers. 

At  length,  the  preliminary  information  having  been 
obtained,  the  proscribed  having  been  marked  out,  the 
plan  of  attack  settled,  an  order  was  given  for  the  simul 
taneous  arrest  of  all  persons  suspected  of  heresy,  through 
out  the  kingdom.  It  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  on  the 
unhappy  victims,  who  had  gone  on  with  their  secret 
associations,  little  suspecting  the  ruin  that  hung  over 
them.  No  resistance  was  attempted.  Men  and  women, 
churchmen  and  laymen,  persons  of  all  ranks  and  pro 
fessions,  were  hurried  from  their  homes  and  lodged 
in  the  secret  chambers  of  the  Inquisition.  Yet  these 
could  not  furnish  accommodations  for  the  number,  and 
many  were  removed  to  the  ordinary  prisons,  and  even 
to  convents  and  private  dwellings.  In  Seville  alone 
eight  hundred  were  arrested  on  the  first  day.  Fears 
were  entertained  of  an  attempt  at  rescue,  and  an  ad 
ditional  guard  was  stationed  over  the  places  of  con 
finement.  The  inquisitors  were  in  the  condition  of  a 
fisherman  whose  cast  has  been  so  successful  that  the 


388  PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 

draught  of  fishes  seems  likely  to  prove  too  heavy  for 
his  net.6 

The  arrest  of  one  party  gradually  led  to  the  detection 
of  others.  Dragged  from  his  solitary  dungeon  before 
the  secret  tribunal  of  the  Inquisition,  alone,  without 
counsel  to  aid  or  one  friendly  face  to  cheer  him,  with 
out  knowing  the  name  of  his  accuser,  without  being 
allowed  to  confront  the  witnesses  who  were  there  to 
swear  away  his  life,  without  even  a  sight  of  his  own 
process,  except  such  garbled  extracts  as  the  wily  judges 
thought  fit  to  communicate,  is  it  strange  that  the  un 
happy  victim,  in  his  perplexity  and  distress,  should  have 
been  drawn  into  disclosures  fatal  to  his  associates  and 
himself?  If  these  disclosures  were  not  to  the  mind  of 
his  judges,  they  had  only  to  try  the  efficacy  of  the  tor 
ture, — the  rack,  the  cord,  and  the  pulley, — until,  when 
every  joint  had  been  wrenched  from  its  socket,  the 
barbarous  tribunal  was  compelled  to  suspend,  not  ter 
minate,  the  application,  from  the  inability  of  the  sufferer 
to  endure  it.  Such  were  the  dismal  scenes  enacted  in 
the  name  of  religion,  and  by  the  ministers  of  religion, 
as  well  as  of  the  Inquisition, — scenes  to  which  few  of 
those  who  had  once  witnessed  them,  and  escaped  with 
life,  dared  ever  to  allude.  For  to  reveal  the  secrets  of 
the  Inquisition  was  death.7 

At  the  expiration  of  eighteen  months  from  the  period 
of  the  first  arrests,  many  of  the  trials  had  been  con- 

6  McCrie,  History  of  the  Reformation  in  Spain  (Edinburgh,  1829), 
p.  243. — Relacion  del  Auto  que  se  hi9O  en  Valladolid  el  dia  de  la 
Sanctissima  Trinidad,  Ano  de  1559,  MS. 

7  The  reader  curious  in  the  matter  will  find  a  more  particular 
account  of  the  origin  and  organization  of  the  modern  Inquisition  in 
the  "  History  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,"  part  i.  cap.  9. 


AUTOS  DE  FE.  389 

eluded,  the  doom  of  the  prisoners  was  sealed,  and  it 
was  thought  time  that  the  prisons  should  disgorge  their 
superfluous  inmates.  Valladolid  was  selected  as  the 
theatre  of  the  first  auto  defe,  both  from  the  importance 
of  the  capital  and  the  presence  of  the  court,  which 
would  thus  sanction  and  give  greater  dignity  to  the 
celebration.  This  event  took  place  in  May,  1559.  The 
Regent  Joanna,  the  young  prince  of  Asturias,  Don 
Carlos,  and  the  principal  grandees  of  the  court,  were 
there  to  witness  the  spectacle.  By  rendering  the  heir 
of  the  crown  thus  early  familiar  with  the  tender  mercies 
of  the  Holy  Office,  it  may  have  been  intended  to  con 
ciliate  his  favor  to  that  institution.  If  such  was  the 
object,  according  to  the  report  it  signally  failed,  since 
the  woeful  spectacle  left  no  other  impressions  on  the 
mind  of  the  prince  than  those  of  indignation  and 
disgust. 

The  example  of  Valladolid  was  soon  followed  by 
autos  de  fe  in  Granada,  Toledo,  Seville,  Barcelona, 
— in  short,  in  the  twelve  capitals  in  which  tribunals 
of  the  Holy  Office  were  established.  A  second  cele 
bration  at  Valladolid  was  reserved  for  the  eighth  of 
October  in  the  same  year,  when  it  would  be  graced 
by  the  presence  of  the  sovereign  himself.  Indeed, 
as  several  of  the  processes  had  been  concluded  some 
months  before  this  period,  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  sacrifice  of  more  than  one  of  the  victims  had 
been  postponed  in  order  to  give  greater  effect  to  the 
spectacle.8 

8  See  the  Register  of  such  as  were  burned  at  Seville  and  Valladolid, 
in  1559,  ap.  Montanus,  Discovery  of  sundry  subtill  Practises  of  the 
Inquisition. —  Relacion  del  Auto  que  se  hi9o  en  Valladolid  el  dia 
33* 


39o  PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 

The  auto  defe — "act  of  faith" — was  the  most  im 
posing,  as  it  was  the  most  awful,  of  the  solemnities 
authorized  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  It  was  in 
tended,  somewhat  profanely,  as  has  been  intimated,  to 
combine  the  pomp  of  the  Roman  triumph  with  the 
terrors  of  the  day  of  judgment.?  It  may  remind  one 
quite  as  much  of  those  bloody  festivals  prepared  for 
the  entertainment  of  the  Caesars  in  the  Coliseum.  The 
religious  import  of  the  auto  defe  was  intimated  by  the 
circumstance  of  its  being  celebrated  on  a  Sunday,  or 
some  other  holiday  of  the  Church.  An  indulgence  for 
forty  days  was  granted  by  his  holiness  to  all  who  should 
be  present  at  the  spectacle ;  as  if  the  appetite  for  wit 
nessing  the  scenes  of  human  suffering  required  to  be 
stimulated  by  a  bounty, — that,  too,  in  Spain,  where 
the  amusements  were,  and  still  are,  of  the  most  san 
guinary  character. 

The  scene  for  this  second  auto  de  fe  at  Valladolid 
was  the  great  square  in  front  of  the  church  of  St. 
Francis.  At  one  end  a  platform  was  raised,  covered 
with  rich  carpeting,  on  which  were  ranged  the  seats  of 
the  inquisitors,  emblazoned  with  the  arms  of  the  Holy 
Office.  Near  to  this  was  the  royal  gallery,  a  private 
entrance  to  which  secured  the  inmates  from  molesta 
tion  by  the  crowd.  Opposite  to  this  gallery  a  large 
scaffold  was  erected,  so  as  to  be  visible  from  all  parts 
of  the  arena,  and  was  appropriated  to  the  unhappy 
martyrs  who  were  to  suffer  in  the  auto. 

At  six  in  the  morning  all  the  bells  in  the  capital 

de  la  Sanctissima  Trinidad,  1559,  MS. — Sepulveda,  Opera,  torn.  iii. 
p.  58. 
9  McCrie,  Reformation  in  Spain,  p.  274. 


AUTOS  DE  FE.  391 

begcin  to  toll,  and  a  solemn  procession  was  seen  to 
move  from  the  dismal  fortress  of  the  Inquisition.  In 
the  van  marched  a  body  of  troops,  to  secure  a  free 
passage  for  the  procession.  Then  came  the  con 
demned,  each  attended  by  two  familiars  of  the  Holy 
Office,  and  those  who  were  to  suffer  at  the  stake  by 
two  friars,  in  addition,  exhorting  the  heretic  to  abjure 
his  errors.  Those  admitted  to  penitence  wore  a  sable 
dress ;  while  the  unfortunate  martyr  was  enveloped  in 
a  loose  sack  of  yellow  cloth, — the  san  benito, — with 
his  head  surmounted  by  a  cap  of  pasteboard  of  a 
conical  form,  which,  together  with  the  cloak,  was  em 
broidered  with  figures  of  flames  and  of  devils  fanning 
and  feeding  them ;  all  emblematical  of  the  destiny  of 
the  heretic's  soul  in  the  world  to  come,  as  well  as  of 
his  body  in  the  present.  Then  came  the  magistrates 
of  the  city,  the  judges  of  the  courts,  the  ecclesiastical 
orders,  and  the  nobles  of  the  land,  on  horseback. 
These  were  followed  by  the  members  of  the  dread  tri 
bunal,  and  the  fiscal,  bearing  a  standard  of  crimson 
damask,  on  one  side  of  which  were  displayed  the  arms 
of  the  Inquisition,  and  on  the  other  the  insignia  of  its 
founders,  Sixtus  the  Fifth  and  Ferdinand  the  Catholic. 
Next  came  a  numerous  train  of  familiars,  well  mounted, 
among  whom  were  many  of  the  gentry  of  the  province, 
proud  to  act  as  the  body-guard  of  the  Holy  Office.  The 
rear  was  brought  up  by  an  immense  concourse  of  the 
common  people,  stimulated  on  the  present  occasion, 
no  doubt,  by  the  loyal  desire  to  see  their  new  sove 
reign,  as  well  as  by  the  ambition  to  share  in  the  tri 
umphs  of  the  auto  de  fe.  The  number  thus  drawn 
together  from  the  capital  and  the  country,  far  exceed- 


392 


PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 


ing  what  was  usual  on  such  occasions,  is  estimated 
by  one  present  at  full  two  hundred  thousand.10 

As  the  multitude  defiled  into  the  square,  the  inquisi 
tors  took  their  place  on  the  seats  prepared  for  their 
reception.  The  condemned  were  conducted  to  the 
scaifold,  and  the  royal  station  was  occupied  by  Philip, 
with  the  different  members  of  his  household.  At  his 
side  sat  his  sister,  the  late  regent,  his  son,  Don  Carlos, 
his  nephew,  Alexander  Farnese,  several  foreign  am 
bassadors,  and  the  principal  grandees  and  higher  eccle 
siastics  in  attendance  on  the  court.  It  was  an  august 
assembly  of  the  greatest  and  the  proudest  in  the  land. 
But  the  most  indifferent  spectator,  who  had  a  spark  of 
humanity  in  his  bosom,  might  have  turned  with  feel 
ings  of  admiration  from  this  array  of  worldly  power, 
to  the  poor  martyr,  who,  with  no  support  but  what  he 
drew  from  within,  was  prepared  to  defy  this  power  and 
to  lay  down  his  life  in  vindication  of  the  rights  of 
conscience.  Some  there  may  have  been,  in  that  large 
concourse,  who  shared  in  these  sentiments.  But  their 
number  was  small  indeed  in  comparison  with  those 
who  looked  on  the  wretched  victim  as  the  enemy  of 
God,  and  his  approaching  sacrifice  as  the  most  glorious 
triumph  of  the  Cross. 

The  ceremonies  began  with  a  sermon,  "the  sermon 
of  the  faith,"  by  the  bishop  of  Zamora.  The  subject 
of  it  may  well  be  guessed,  from  the  occasion.  It  was 
no  doubt  plentifully  larded  with  texts  of  Scripture, 
and,  unless  the  preacher  departed  from  the  fashion  of 
the  time,  with  passages  from  the  heathen  writers,  how- 

10  De  Castro,  Historia  de  los  Protestantes  Espanoles  (Cadiz,  1851), 
p.  177- 


AUTOS  DE  FE. 


393 


ever  much  out  of  place  they  may  seem  in  an  orthodox 
discourse. 

When  the  bishop  had  concluded,  the  grand  inquisi 
tor  administered  an  oath  to  the  assembled  multitude, 
who  on  their  knees  solemnly  swore  to  defend  the  In 
quisition,  to  maintain  the  purity  of  the  faith,  and  to 
inform  against  any  one  who  should  swerve  from  it. 
As  Philip  repeated  an  oath  of  similar  import,  he  suited 
the  action  to  the  word,  and,  rising  from  his  seat,  drew 
his  sword  from  its  scabbard,  as  if  to  announce  himself 
the  determined  champion  of  the  Holy  Office.  In  the 
earlier  autos  of  the  Moorish  and  Jewish  infidels,  so 
humiliating  an  oath  had  never  been  exacted  from  the 
sovereign. 

After  this,  the  secretary  of  the  tribunal  read  aloud 
an  instrument  reciting  the  grounds  for  the  conviction 
of  the  prisoners,  and  the  respective  sentences  pro 
nounced  against  them.  Those  who  were  to  be  ad 
mitted  to  penitence,  each,  as  his  sentence  was  pro 
claimed,  knelt  down,  and,  with  his  hands  on  the 
missal,  solemnly  abjured  his  errors,  and  was  absolved 
by  the  grand  inquisitor.  The  absolution,  however, 
was  not  so  entire  as  to  relieve  the  offender  from  the 
penalty  of  his  transgressions  in  this  world.  Some 
were  doomed  to  perpetual  imprisonment  in  the  cells 
of  the  Inquisition,  others  to  lighter  penances.  All 
were  doomed  to  the  confiscation  of  their  property, — a 
point  of  too  great  moment  to  the  welfare  of  the  tri 
bunal  ever  to  be  omitted.  Besides  this,  in  many  cases 
the  offender,  and,  by  a  glaring  perversion  of  justice, 
his  immediate  descendants,  were  rendered  forever  in 
eligible  to  public  office  of  any  kind,  and  their  names 
R* 


394 


PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 


branded  with  perpetual  infamy.  Thus  blighted  in 
fortune  and  in  character,  they  were  said,  in  the  soft 
language  of  the  Inquisition,  to  be  reconciled. 

As  these  unfortunate  persons  were  remanded,  under 
a  strong  guard,  to  their  prisons,  all  eyes  were  turned 
on  the  little  company  of  martyrs,  who,  clothed  in  the 
ignominious  garb  of  the  san  benito,  stood  awaiting  the 
sentence  of  their  judges,  with  cords  round  their  necks, 
and  in  their  hands  a  cross,  or  sometimes  an  inverted 
torch,  typical  of  their  own  speedy  dissolution.  The 
interest  of  the  spectators  was  still  further  excited,  in 
the  present  instance,  by  the  fact  that  several  of  these 
victims  were  not  only  illustrious  for  their  rank,  but  yet 
more  so  for  their  talents  and  virtues.  In  their  haggard 
looks,  their  emaciated  forms,  and  too  often,  alas !  their 
distorted  limbs,  it  was  easy  to  read  the  story  of  their 
sufferings  in  their  long  imprisonment,  for  some  of  them 
had  been  confined  in  the  dark  cells  of  the  Inquisition 
much  more  than  a  year.  Yet  their  countenances, 
though  haggard,  far  from  showing  any  sign  of  weak 
ness  or  fear,  were  lighted  up  with  the  glow  of  holy 
enthusiasm,  as  of  men  prepared  to  seal  their  testimony 
with  their  blood. 

When  that  part  of  the  process  showing  the  grounds 
of  their  conviction  had  been  read,  the  grand  inquisitor 
consigned  them  to  the  hands  of  the  corregidor  of  the 
city,  beseeching  him  to  deal  with  the  prisoners  in  all 
kindness  and  mercy  /"  a  honeyed  but  most  hypocritical 
phrase,  since  no  choice  was  left  to  the  civil  magistrate 
but  to  execute  the  terrible  sentence  of  the  law  against 

11  "  Nous  recommandons  de  le  traiter  avec  bontd  et  misericorde." 
Llorente,  Inquisition  d'Espagne,  torn.  ii.  p.  253. 


AU7VS  DK   FK.  395 

heretics,  the  preparations  for  which  had  been  made  by 
him  a  week  before.12 

The  whole  number  of  convicts  amounted  to  thirty, 
of  whom  sixteen  were  reconciled,  and  the  remainder 
relaxed  to  the  secular  arm, — in  other  words,  turned 
over  to  the  civil  magistrate  for  execution.  There  were 
few  of  those  thus  condemned  who,  when  brought  to 
the  stake,  did  not  so  far  shrink  from  the  dreadful  doom 
that  awaited  them  as  to  consent  to  purchase  a  commu 
tation  of  it  by  confession  before  they  died ;  in  which 
case  they  were  strangled  by  the  garrote  before  their 
bodies  were  thrown  into  the  flames. 

Of  the  present  number  there  were  only  two  whose  con 
stancy  triumphed  to  the  last  over  the  dread  of  suffering, 
and  who  refused  to  purchase  any  mitigation  of  it  by 
a  compromise  with  conscience.  The  names  of  these 
martyrs  should  be  engraven  on  the  record  of  history. 

One  of  them  was  Don  Carlos  de  Seso,  a  noble  Flor 
entine,  who  had  stood  high  in  the  favor  of  Charles 
the  Fifth.  Being  united  with  a  lady  of  rank  in  Cas 
tile,  he  removed  to  that  country  and  took  up  his  resi 
dence  in  Valladolid.  He  had  become  a  convert  to  the 
Lutheran  doctrines,  which  he  first  communicated  to 
his  own  family,  and  afterwards  showed  equal  zeal  in 
propagating  among  the  people  of  Valladolid  and  its 
neighborhood.  In  short,  there  was  no  man  to  whose 
untiring  and  intrepid  labors  the  cause  of  the  Reformed 
religion  in  Spain  was  more  indebted.  He  was,  of 
course,  a  conspicuous  mark  for  the  Inquisition. 

During  the   fifteen  months    in  which  he  lay  in  its 

12  Colmenares,  Historia  de  Segovia,  cap.  xlii.  sec.  3. — Cabrera, 
Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  v.  cap.  3. 


396 


PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 


gloomy  cells,  cut  off  from  human  sympathy  and  sup 
port,  his  constancy  remained  unshaken.  The  night 
preceding  his  execution,  when  his  sentence  had  been 
announced  to  him,  De  Seso  called  for  writing-mate 
rials.  It  was  thought  he  designed  to  propitiate  his 
judges  by  a  full  confession  of  his  errors.  But  the 
confession  he  made  was  of  another  kind.  He  insisted 
on  the  errors  of  the  Romish  Church,  and  avowed  his 
unshaken  trust  in  the  great  truths  of  the  Reformation. 
The  document,  covering  two  sheets  of  paper,  is  pro 
nounced  by  the  secretary  of  the  Inquisition  to  be  a 
composition  equally  remarkable  for  its  energy  and 
precision.13  When  led  before  the  royal  gallery,  on  his 
way  to  the  place  of  execution,  De  Seso  pathetically 
exclaimed  to  Philip,  "Is  it  thus  that  you  allow  your 
innocent  subjects  to  be  persecuted?"  To  which  the 
king  made  the  memorable  reply,  "If  it  were  my  own 
son,  I  would  fetch  the  wood  to  burn  him,  were  he 
such  a  wretch  as  thou  art !"  It  was  certainly  a  charac 
teristic  answer.14 

At  the  stake  De  Seso  showed  the  same  unshaken 

*3  Llorente,  Inquisition  d'Espagne,  torn.  ii.  p.  236. 

'4  The  anecdote  is  well  attested.  (Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  v. 
cap.  3.)  Father  Agustin  Davila  notices  what  he  styles  this  sentencia 
famosa  in  his  funeral  discourse  on  Philip,  delivered  at  Valladolid  soon 
after  that  monarch's  death.  (Sermones  funerales,  en  las  Honras  del 
Rey  Don  Felipe  II.,  fol.  77.)  Colmenares  still  more  emphatically 
eulogizes  the  words  thus  uttered  in  the  cause  of  the  true  faith,  as 
worthy  of  such  a  prince :  "  El  primer  sentenciado  al  fuego  en  este 
Auto  fue  Don  Carlos  de  Seso  de  sangre  noble,  que  oso  dezir  al  Rey, 
como  consentia  que  le  quemasen,  y  severe  respondio,  Yo  trahere  la 
lena  para  quemar  a  mi  hijo,  si  fuere  tan  malo  como  vos.  Accion  y 
palabras  dignas  de  tal  Rey  en  causa  de  la  suprema  religion."  His- 
toria  de  Segovia,  cap.  xlii.  sec.  3. 


AUTOS  DE   FE. 


397 


constancy,  bearing  his  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the 
great  cause  for  which  he  gave  up  his  life.  As  the 
flames  crept  slowly  around  him,  he  called  on  the 
soldiers  to  heap  up  the  fagots,  that  his  agonies  might 
be  sooner  ended;  and  his  executioners,  indignant  at 
the  obstinacy — the  heroism — of  the  martyr,  were  not 
slow  in  obeying  his  commands.15 

The  companion  and  fellow-sufferer  of  De  Seso  was 
Domingo  de  Roxas,  son  of  the  marquis  de  Poza,  an 
unhappy  noble,  who  had  seen  five  of  his  family,  in 
cluding  his  eldest  son,  condemned  to  various  humili 
ating  penances  by  the  Inquisition  for  their  heretical 
opinions.  This  one  was  now  to  surfer  death.  De 
Roxas  was  a  Dominican  monk.  It  is  singular  that 
this  order,  from  which  the  ministers  of  the  Holy 
Office  were  particularly  taken,  furnished  many  pros 
elytes  to  the  Reformed  religion.  De  Roxas,  as  was 
the  usage  with  ecclesiastics,  was  allowed  to  retain  his 
sacerdotal  habit  until  his  sentence  had  been  read, 
when  he  was  degraded  from  his  ecclesiastical  rank, 
his  vestments  were  stripped  off  one  after  another, 
and  the  hideous  dress  of  the  san  benito  thrown  over 
him,  amid  the  shouts  and  derision  of  the  populace. 
Thus  apparelled,  he  made  an  attempt  to  address  the 
spectators  around  the  scaffold ;  but  no  sooner  did  he 
begin  to  raise  his  voice  against  the  errors  and  cruel 
ties  of  Rome  than  Philip  indignantly  commanded 
him  to  be  gagged.  The  gag  was  a  piece  of*  cleft 
wood,  which,  forcibly  compressing  the  tongue,  had 
the  additional  advantage  of  causing  great  pain  whiie 
it  silenced  the  offender.  Even  when  he  was  bound 

JS  Llorente,  Inquisition  d'Espagne,  torn.  ii.  p.  237. 
Philip.— VOL.  I.  34 


398  PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 

to  the  stake,  the  gag,  though  contrary  to  custom, 
was  suffered  to  remain  in  the  mouth  of  De  Roxas, 
as  if  his  enemies  dreaded  the  effects  of  an  eloquence 
that  triumphed  over  the  anguish  of  death.16 

The  place  of  execution — the  quemadero,  the  burning- 
place,  as  it  was  called — was  a  spot  selected  for  the 
purpose  without  the  walls  of  the  city.17  Those  who 
attended  an  auto  de  fe  were  not,  therefore,  neces 
sarily,  as  is  commonly  imagined,  spectators  of  the 
tragic  scene  that  concluded  it.  The  great  body  of 
the  people,  and  many  of  higher  rank,  no  doubt,  fol 
lowed  to  the  place  of  execution.  On  this  occasion 
there  is  reason  to  think,  from  the  language— some 
what  equivocal,  it  is  true — of  Philip's  biographer, 
that  the  monarch  chose  to  testify  his  devotion  to 
the  Inquisition  by  witnessing  in  person  the  appalling 
close  of  the  drama;  while  his  guards  mingled  with 
the  menials  of  the  Holy  Office  and  heaped  up  the 
fagots  round  their  victims.18 

16  Montanus,  Discovery  of  sundry  subtill  Practises  of  the  Inquisition, 
p.  52. — Llorente,  Inquisition  d'Espagne,  torn.  ii.  p.  239. — Sepulveda, 
Opera,  torn.  iii.  p.  58. 

*7  Puigblanch,  The  Inquisition  Unmasked  (London,  1816),  vol.  i. 

P-  336. 

*8  "  Hall6se  por  esto  presente  a  ver  llevar  i  entregar  al  fuego  muchos 
delinquentes  aconpanados  de  sus  guardas  de  a  pie  i  de  a  cavallo,  que 
ayudaron  a  la  execucion."  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  v.  cap.  3. — 
It  may.be  doubted  whether  the  historian  means  any  thing  more  than 
that  Philip  saw  the  unfortunate  men  led  to  execution,  at  which  his  own 
guards  assisted.  Davila,  the  friar  who,  as  I  have  noticed,  pronounced 
a  funeral  oration  on  the  king,  speaks  of  him  simply  as  having  assisted 
at  this  act  of  faith, — "  assistir  a  los  actos  de  Fe,  como  se  vio  en  esta 
Ciudad."  (Sermones  funerales,  fol.  77.)  Could  the  worthy  father 
have  ventured  to  give  Philip  credit  for  being  present  at  the  death,  he 


AUTOS  DE  FE.  399 

Such  was  the  cruel  exhibition  which,  under  the  garb 
of  a  religious  festival,  was  thought  the  most  fitting 
ceremonial  for  welcoming  the  Catholic  monarch  to 
his  dominions  !  During  the  whole  time  of  its  dura 
tion  in  the  public  square,  from  six  in  the  morning 
till  two  in  the  afternoon,  no  symptom  of  impatience 
was  exhibited  by  the  spectators,  and,  as  may  well  be 
believed,  no  sign  of  sympathy  for  the  sufferers.19  It 
would  be  difficult  to  devise  a  better  school  for  per 
verting  the  moral  sense  and  deadening  the  sensibilities 
of  a  nation.20 

Under  the  royal  sanction,  the  work  of  persecution 

would  not  have  failed  to  do  so.  Leti,  less  scrupulous,  tells  us  that 
Philip  saw  the  execution  from  the  windows  of  his  palace,  heard  the 
cries  of  the  dying  martyrs,  and  enjoyed  the  spectacle !  The  picture 
he  gives  of  the  scene  loses  nothing  for  want  of  coloring.  Vita  di 
Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  342. 

*9  How  little  sympathy,  may  be  inferred  from  the  savage  satisfac 
tion  with  which  a  wise  and  temperate  historian  of  the  time  dismisses 
to  everlasting  punishment  one  of  the  martyrs  of  the  first  auto  at 
Valladolid :  "  Jureque  vivus  flammis  corpore  cruciatus  miserrimam 
animam  efflavit  ad  supplicia  sempiterna."  Sepulveda,  Opera,  torn, 
iii.  p.  58. 

20  Balmes,  one  of  the  most  successful  champions  of  the  Romish 
faith  in  our  time,  finds  in  the  terrible  apathy  thus  shown  to  the  suffer 
ings  of  the  martyrs  a  proof  of  a  more  vital  religious  sentiment  than 
exists  at  the  present  day :  "  We  feel  our  hair  grow  stiff  on  our  heads 
at  the  mere  idea  of  burning  a  man  alive.  Placed  in  society  where 
the  religious  sentiment  is  considerably  diminished,  accustomed  to  live 
among  men  who  have  a  different  religion,  and  sometimes  none  at  all, 
we  cannot  bring  ourselves  to  believe  that  it  could  be,  at  that  time, 
quite  an  ordinary  thing  to  see  heretics  or  the  impious  led  to  punish 
ment."  Protestantism  and  Catholicity  compared  in  their  Effects  on 
the  Civilization  of  Europe,  Eng.  trans.  (Baltimore,  1851),  p.  217. — 
According  to  this  view  of  the  matter,  the  more  religion  there  is  among 
men,  the  harder  will  be  their  hearts. 


400 


PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 


now  went  forward  more  briskly  than  ever.21  No  call 
ing  was  too  sacred,  no  rank  too  high,  to  escape  the 
shafts  of  the  informer.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  no  less  than  nine  bishops  were  compelled  to 
do  humiliating  penance  in  some  form  or  other  for 
heterodox  opinions.  But  the  most  illustrious  victim 
of  the  Inquisition  was  Bartolome  Carranza,  arch 
bishop  of  Toledo.  The  primacy  of  Spain  might  be 
considered  as  the  post  of  the  highest  consideration 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  after  the  papacy.22 
The  proceedings  against  this  prelate,  on  the  whole, 

21  The  zeal  of  the  king  and  the  Inquisition  together  in  the  work  of 
persecution  had  wellnigh  got  the  nation  into  more  than  one  difficulty 
with  foreign  countries.  Mann,  the  English  minister,  was  obliged  to 
remonstrate  against  the  manner  in  which  the  independence  of  his  own 
household  was  violated  by  the  agents  of  the  Holy  Office.  The  com 
plaints  of  St.-Sulpice,  the  French  ambassador,  notwithstanding  the 
gravity  of  the  subject,  are  told  in  a  vein  of  caustic  humor  that  may 
provoke  a  smile  in  the  reader  :  "  I  have  complained  to  the  king  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  Marseillese,  and  other  Frenchmen,  are  maltreated 
by  the  Inquisition.  He  excused  himself  by  saying  that  he  had  little 
power  or  authority  in  matters  which  depended  on  that  body ;  he  could 
do  nothing  further  than  recommend  the  grand  inquisitor  to  cause  good 
and  speedy  justice  to  be  done  to  the  parties.  The  grand  inquisitor 
promised  that  they  should  be  treated  no  worse  than  born  Castilians, 
and  the  '  good  and  speedy  justice'  came  to  this,  that  they  were  burnt 
alive  in  the  king's  presence."  Raumer,  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth 
Centuries,  vol.  i.  p.  in. 

»  The  archbishop  of  Toledo,  according  to  Lucio  Marineo  Siculo, 
who  wrote  a  few  years  before  this  period,  had  jurisdiction  over  more 
than  fifteen  large  towns,  besides  smaller  places,  which  of  course  made 
the  number  of  his  vassals  enormous.  His  revenues,  also,  amounting 
to  eighty  thousand  ducats,  exceeded  those  of  any  grandee  in  the 
kingdom.  The  yearly  revenues  of  the  subordinate  beneficiaries  of 
his  church  were  together  not  less  than  a  hundred  and  eighty  thou 
sand  ducats.  Cosas  memorables  de  Espana  (Alcala  de  Henares, 
1539),  fol.  13. 


PROSECUTION  OF  CARRANZA.  401 

excited  more  interest  throughout  Christendom  than 
any  other  case  that  came  before  the  tribunal  of  the 
Inquisition. 

Carranza,  who  was  of  an  ancient  Castilian  family, 
had  early  entered  a  Dominican  convent  in  the  sub 
urbs  of  Guadalajara.  His  exemplary  life,  and  his 
great  parts  and  learning,  recommended  him  to  the 
favor  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  who  appointed  him  con 
fessor  to  his  son  Philip.  The  emperor  also  sent 
him  to  the  Council  of  Trent,  where  he  made  a  great 
impression  by  his  eloquence,  as  well  as  by  a  tract 
which  he  published  against  plurality  of  benefices, 
which,  however,  excited  no  little  disgust  in  many 
of  his  order.  On  Philip's  visit  to  England  to  marry 
Queen  Mary,  Carranza  accompanied  his  master,  and 
while  in  that  country  he  distinguished  himself  by  the 
zeal  and  ability  with  which  he  controverted  the  doc 
trines  of  the  Protestants.  The  alacrity,  moreover, 
which  he  manifested  in  the  work  of  persecution 
made  him  generally  odious  under  the  name  of  the 
"black  friar," — a  name  peculiarly  appropriate,  as  it 
applied  not  less  to  his  swarthy  complexion  than  to 
the  garb  of  his  order.  On  Philip's  return  to  Flan 
ders,  Carranza,  who  had  twice  refused  a  mitre,  was 
raised — not  without  strong  disinclination  on  his  own 
part  —  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Toledo.  The 
"  nolo  episcopari"  in  this  instance,  seems  to  have 
been  sincere.  It  would  have  been  well  for  him  if 
it  had  been  effectual.  Carranza's  elevation  to  the 
primacy  was  the  source  of  all  his  troubles. 

The  hatred  of  theologians  has  passed  into  a  prov 
erb;  and  there  would  certainly  seem  to  be  no  rancor 
34* 


402  PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 

surpassing  that  of  a  Spanish  ecclesiastic.  Among 
the  enemies  raised  by  Carranza's  success,  the  most 
implacable  was  the  grand  inquisitor,  Valdes.  The 
archbishop  of  Seville  could  ill  brook  that  a  humble 
Dominican  should  be  thus  raised  from  the  cloister 
over  the  heads  of  the  proud  prelacy  of  Spain.  With 
unwearied  pains,  such  as  hate  only  could  induce,  he 
sought  out  whatever  could  make  against  the  ortho 
doxy  of  the  new  prelate,  whether  in  his  writings  or 
his  conversation.  Some  plausible  ground  was  afforded 
for  this  from  the  fact  that,  although  Carranza,  as  his 
whole  life  had  shown,  was  devoted  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  yet  his  long  residence  in  Protestant 
countries,  and  his  familiarity  with  Protestant  works, 
had  given  a  coloring  to  his  language,  if  not  to  his 
opinions,  which  resembled  that  of  the  Reformers. 
Indeed,  Carranza  seems  to  have  been  much  of  the 
same  way  of  thinking  with  Pole,  Contarini,  Morone, 
and  other  illustrious  Romanists,  whose  liberal  natures 
and  wide  range  of  study  had  led  them  to  sanction 
more  than  one  of  the  Lutheran  dogmas  which  were 
subsequently  proscribed  by  the  Council  of  Trent. 
One  charge  strongly  urged  against  the  primate  was 
his  assent  to  the  heretical  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith.  In  support  of  this,  Father  Regla,  the  con 
fessor,  as  the  reader  may  remember,  of  Charles  the 
Fifth,  and  a  worthy  coadjutor  of  Valdes,  quoted 
words  of  consolation  employed  by  Carranza,  in  his 
presence,  at  the  death-bed  of  the  emperor.23 

°3  Salazar,  Vida  de  Carranza  (Madrid,  1788),  cap.  i-n. — Docu- 
mentos  ineditos,  torn.  v.  p.  389,  et  seq. — Llorente,  Inquisition  d'Es- 
pagne,  torn.  ii.  p.  163,  torn.  iii.  p.  183,  et  seq. 


PROSECUTION  OF  CARRANZA. 


403 


The  exalted  rank  of  the  accused  made  it  necessary 
for  his  enemies  to  proceed  with  the  greatest  caution. 
Never  had  the  bloodhounds  of  the  Inquisition  been  set 
on  so  noble  a  quarry.  Confident  in  his  own  authority, 
the  prelate  had  little  reason  for  distrust.  He  could  not 
ward  off  the  blow,  for  it  was  an  invisible  arm  stronger 
than  his  own  that  was  raised  to  smite  him.  On  the 
twenty-second  of  August,  1559,  the  emissaries  of  the 
Holy  Office  entered  the  primate's  town  of  Torrelaguna. 
The  doors  of  the  episcopal  palace  were  thrown  open  to 
the  ministers  of  the  terrible  tribunal.  The  prelate  was 
dragged  from  his  bed  at  midnight,  was  hurried  into  a 
coach,  and,  while  the  inhabitants  were  ordered  not  so 
much  as  to  present  themselves  at  the  windows,  he  was 
conducted,  under  a  strong  guard,  to  the  prisons  of  the 
Inquisition  at  Valladolid.  The  arrest  of  such  a  person 
caused  a  great  sensation  throughout  the  country,  but 
no  attempt  was  made  at  a  rescue. 

The  primate  would  have  appealed  from  the  Holy 
Office  to  the  pope,  as  the  only  power  competent  to 
judge  him.  But  he  was  unwilling  to  give  umbrage  to 
Philip,  who  had  told  him  in  any  extremity  to  rely  on 
him.  The  king,  however,  was  still  in  the  Netherlands, 
where  his  mind  had  been  preoccupied,  through  the 
archbishop's  enemies,  with  rumors  of  his  defection. 
And  the  mere  imputation  of  heresy,  in  this  dangerous 
crisis,  and  especially  in  one  whom  he  had  so  recently 
raised  to  the  highest  post  in  the  Spanish  church,  was 
enough  not  only  to  efface  the  recollection  of  past  ser 
vices  from  the  mind  of  Philip,  but  to  turn  his  favor 
into  avers* fn.  For  two  years  Carranza  was  suffered  to 
languish  in  confinement,  exposed  to  all  the  annoyances 


404 


PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 


which  the  malice  of  his  enemies  could  devise.  So  com 
pletely  was  he  dead  to  the  world  that  he  knew  nothing 
of  a  conflagration  which  consumed  more  than  four 
hundred  of  the  principal  houses  in  Valladolid,  till 
some  years  after  the  occurrence.24 

At  length  the  Council  of  Trent,  sharing  the  in 
dignation  of  the  rest  of  Christendom  at  the  arch 
bishop's  protracted  imprisonment,  called  on  Philip 
to  interpose  in  his  behalf  and  to  remove  the  cause  to 
another  tribunal.  But  the  king  gave  little  heed  to 
the  remonstrance,  which  the  inquisitors  treated  as  a 
presumptuous  interference  with  their  authority. 

In  1566,  Pius  the  Fifth  ascended  the  pontifical  throne. 
He  was  a  man  of  austere  morals  and  a  most  inflexible 
will.  A  Dominican,  like  Carranza,  he  was  greatly 
scandalized  by  the  treatment  which  the  primate  had 
received,  and  by  the  shameful  length  to  which  his  pro 
cess  had  been  protracted.  He  at  once  sent  his  orders 
to  Spain  for  the  removal  of  the  grand  inquisitor,  Valdes, 
from  office,  summoning,  at  the  same  time,  the  cause 
and  the  prisoner  before  his  own  tribunal.  The  bold 
inquisitor,  loath  to  lose  his  prey,  would  have  defied  the 
power  of  Rome,  as  he  had  done  that  of  the  Council 
of  Trent.  Philip  remonstrated  ;  but  Pius  was  firm, 
and  menaced  both  king  and  inquisitor  with  excommu 
nication.  Philip  had  no  mind  for  a  second  collision 
with  the  papal  court.  In  imagination  he  already  heard 
the  thunders  of  the  Vatican  rolling  in  the  distance  and 

2*  "  En  que  se  quemaron  mas  de  400  casas  principales,  y  ricas,  y 
algunas  en  aquel  barrio  donde  el  estaba;  no  solo  no  lo  entendio  el 
Arzobispo,  pero  ni  lo  supo  hasta  muchos  anos  despues  de  estar  ea 
Roma."  Salazar,  Vida  de  Carranza,  cap.  15. 


PROSECUTION  OF  CARRANZA. 


405 


threatening  soon  to  break  upon  his  head.  After  a  con 
finement  of  now  more  than  seven  years'  duration,  the 
archbishop  was  sent  under  a  guard  to  Rome.  He  was 
kindly  received  by  the  pontiff,  and  honorably  lodged 
in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  in  apartments  formerly 
occupied  by  the  popes  themselves.  But  he  was  still  a 
prisoner. 

Pius  now  set  seriously  about  the  examination  of  Car- 
ranza's  process.  It  was  a  tedious  business,  requiring 
his  holiness  to  wade  through  an  ocean  of  papers,  while 
the  progress  of  the  suit  was  perpetually  impeded  by 
embarrassments  thrown  in  his  way  by  the  industrious 
malice  of  the  inquisitors.  At  the  end  of  six  years 
more,  Pius  was  preparing  to  give  his  judgment,  which 
it  was  understood  would  be  favorable  to  Carranza,  when, 
unhappily  for  the  primate,  the  pontiff  died. 

The  Holy  Office,  stung  by  the  prospect  of  its  failure, 
now  strained  every  nerve  to  influence  the  mind  of  the 
new  pope,  Gregory  the  Thirteenth,  to  a  contrary  de 
cision.  New  testimony  was  collected,  new  glosses  were 
put  on  the  primate's  text,  and  the  sanction  of  the  most 
learned  Spanish  theologians  was  brought  in  support  of 
them.  At  length,  at  the  end  of  three  years  further, 
the  holy  father  announced  his  purpose  of  giving  his 
final  decision.  It  was  done  with  great  circumstance. 
The  pope  was  seated  on  his  pontifical  throne,  sur 
rounded  by  all  his  cardinals,  prelates,  and  functionaries 
of  the  apostolic  chamber.  Before  this  august  assembly 
the  archbishop  presented  himself  unsupported  and 
alone,  while  no  one  ventured  to  salute  him.  His  head 
was  bare.  His  once  robust  form  was  bent  by  infirmity 
more  than  by  years;  and  his  care-worn  features  told 


4o6  PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 

of  that  sickness  which  arises  from  hope  deferred.  He 
knelt  down  at  some  distance  from  the  pope,  and  in 
this  humble  attitude  received  his  sentence. 

He  was  declared  to  have  imbibed  the  pernicious 
doctrines  of  Luther.  The  decree  of  the  Inquisition 
prohibiting  the  use  of  his  catechism  was  confirmed. 
He  was  to  abjure  sixteen  propositions  found  in  his 
writings ;  was  suspended  from  the  exercise  of  his 
episcopal  functions  for  five  years,  during  which  time 
he  was  to  be  confined  in  a  convent  of  his  order  at 
Orvieto ;  and,  finally,  he  was  required  to  visit  seven 
of  the  principal  churches  in  Rome  and  perform  mass 
there  by  way  of  penance. 

This  was  the  end  of  eighteen  years  of  doubt, 
anxiety,  and  imprisonment.  The  tears  streamed  down 
the  face  of  the  unhappy  man,  as  he  listened  to  the 
sentence;  but  he  bowed  in  silent  submission  to  the 
will  of  his  superior.  The  very  next  day  he  began  his 
work  of  penance.  But  nature  could  go  no  further  ; 
and  on  the  second  of  May,  only  sixteen  days  after 
his  sentence  had  been  pronounced,  Carranza  died  of 
a  broken  heart.  The  triumph  of  the  Inquisition  was 
complete. 

The  pope  raised  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  the 
primate,  with  a  pompous  inscription,  paying  a  just 
tribute  to  his  talents  and  his  scholarship,  endowing 
him  with  a  full  measure  of  Christian  worth,  and  par 
ticularly  commending  the  exemplary  manner  in  which 
he  had  discharged  the  high  trusts  reposed  in  him  by 
his  sovereign.25 

as  Salazar,  Vida  de  Carranza,  cap.  12-35. — Documentos  ineditos, 


PROSECUTION   OF  CARRANZA.  407 

Such  is  the  story  of  Carranza's  persecution, — con 
sidering  the  rank  of  the  party,  the  unprecedented 
length  of  the  process,  and  the  sensation  it  excited 
throughout  Europe,  altogether  the  most  remarkable  on 
the  records  of  the  Inquisition.26  Our  sympathy  for  the 
archbishop's  sufferings  may  be  reasonably  mitigated 
by  the  reflection  that  he  did  but  receive  the  measure 
which  he  had  meted  out  to  others.* 

While  the  prosecution  of  Carranza  was  going  on, 
the  fires  lighted  for  the  Protestants  continued  to  burn 

torn.  v.  pp.  453-463. — Llorente,   Inquisition   d'Espagne,  torn.  iii.  p. 
218,  et  seq. 

26  The  persecution  of  Carranza  has  occupied  the  pens  of  several 
Castilian  writers.  The  most  ample  biographical  notice  of  him  is  by 
the  Doctor  Salazar  de  Miranda,  who  derived  his  careful  and  trust 
worthy  narrative  from  the  best  original  sources.  Llorente  had  the 
advantage  of  access  to  the  voluminous  records  of  the  Holy  Office, 
of  which  he  was  the  secretary ;  and  in  his  third  volume  he  has  de 
voted  a  large  space  to  the  process  of  Carranza,  which,  with  the  whole 
mass  of  legal  documents  growing  out  of  the  protracted  prosecution, 
amounted,  as  he  assures  us,  to  no  less  than  twenty-six  thousand  leaves 
of  manuscript.  This  enormous  mass  of  testimony  leads  one  to  sus 
pect  that  the  object  of  the  Inquisition  was  not  so  much  to  detect  the 
truth  as  to  cover  it  up.  The  learned  editors  of  the  "  Documentos 
ineditos"  have  profited  by  both  these  works,  as  well  as  by  some 
unpublished  manuscripts  of  that  day,  relating  to  the  affair,  to  exhibit 
it  fully  and  fairly  to  the  Castilian  reader,  who  in  this  brief  history  may 
learn  the  value  of  the  institutions  under  which  his  fathers  lived. 


*  [There  is,  however,  this  distinction  to  be  made :  the  Protestants 
were  condemned  for  holding  opinions  which  they  professed  and  gloried 
in;  while  Carranza  was  accused  of  promulgating  doctrines  which  he 
disavowed  and  repudiated.  The  papal  sentence  ordered  only  that  he 
should  abjure  certain  propositions  which  he  was  "suspected"  of  hold 
ing.  The  persecution  he  underwent  was  the  work,  not  of  fanaticism. 
but  of  personal  enmity  and  intrigue. — ED.] 


408  PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 

with  fury  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  until  at  length 
they  gradually  slackened  and  died  away,  from  mere 
want  of  fuel  to  feed  them.  The  year  1570  may  be 
regarded  as  the  period  of  the  last  auto  de  fe  in  which 
the  Lutherans  played  a  conspicuous  part.  The  sub 
sequent  celebrations  were  devoted  chiefly  to  relapsed 
Jews  and  Mahometans;  and  if  a  Protestant  heretic 
was  sometimes  added  to  this  list,  it  was  "but  as  the 
gleaning  of  grapes  after  the  vintage  is  done."27 

Never  was  there  a  persecution  which  did  its  work 
more  thoroughly.  The  blood  of  the  martyr  is  com 
monly  said  to  be  the  seed  of  the  church.  But  the 
storm  of  persecution  fell  as  heavily  on  the  Spanish 
Protestants  as  it  did  on  the  Albigenses  in  the  thir 
teenth  century,  blighting  every  living  thing,  so  that 
no  germ  remained  for  future  harvests.  Spain  might 
now  boast  that  the  stain  of  heresy  no  longer  defiled 
the  hem  of  her  garment.  But  at  what  a  price  was 
this  purchased  !  Not  merely  by  the  sacrifice  of  the 
lives  and  fortunes  of  a  few  thousands  of  the  existing 
generation,  but  by  the  disastrous  consequences  en 
tailed  forever  on  the  country.  Folded  under  the 
dark  wing  of  the  Inquisition,  Spain  was  shut  out 
from  the  light  which  in  the  sixteenth  century  broke 
over  the  rest  of  Europe,  stimulating  the  nations  to 
greater  enterprise  in  every  department  of  knowledge. 

*7  So  says  McCrie,  whose  volume  on  the  Reformation  in  Spain 
presents  in  a  reasonable  compass  a  very  accurate  view  of  that  inter 
esting  movement.  The  historian  does  not  appear  to  have  had  access 
to  any  rare  or  recondite  materials ;  but  he  has  profited  well  by  those 
at  his  command,  comprehending  the  best  published  works,  and  has 
digested  them  into  a  narrative  distinguished  for  its  temperance  and 
truth. 


EXTINCTION  OF  HERESY.  409 

The  genius  of  the  people  was  rebuked,  and  their 
spirit  quenched,  under  the  malignant  influence  of 
an  eye  that  never  slumbered,  of  an  unseen  arm  ever 
raised  to  strike.  How  could  there  be  freedom  of 
thought,  where  there  was  no  freedom  of  utterance  ? 
Or  freedom  of  utterance,  where  it  was  as  dangerous 
to  say  too  little  as  too  much?  Freedom  cannot  go 
along  with  fear.  Every  way  the  mind  of  the  Spaniard 
was  in  fetters. 

His  moral  sense  was  miserably  perverted.  Men 
were  judged,  not  by  their  practice,  but  by  their  pro 
fessions.  Creed  became  a  substitute  for  conduct. 
Difference  of  faith  made  a  wider  gulf  of  separation 
than  difference  of  race,  language,  or  even  interest. 
Spain  no  longer  formed  one  of  the  great  brother 
hood  of  Christian  nations.  An  immeasurable  barrier 
was  raised  between  that  kingdom  and  the  Protestant 
states  of  Europe.  The  early  condition  of  perpetual 
warfare  with  the  Arabs  who  overran  the  country  had 
led  the  Spaniards  to  mingle  religion  strangely  with 
their  politics.  The  effect  continued  when  the  cause 
had  ceased.  Their  wars  with  the  European  nations 
became  religious  wars.  In  fighting  England  or  the 
Netherlands,  they  were  fighting  the  enemies  of  God. 
It  was  the  same  everywhere.  In  their  contest  with 
the  unoffending  natives  of  the  New  World  they  were 
still  battling  with  the  enemies  of  God.  Their  wars 
took  the  character  of  a  perpetual  crusade,  and  were 
conducted  with  all  the  ferocity  which  fanaticism  could 
inspire. 

The  same  dark  spirit  of  fanaticism  seems  to  brood 
over  the  national  literature, — even  that  lighter  litera- 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — s  35 


4io 


PROTESTANTISM  IN  SPAIN. 


ture  which  in  other  nations  is  made  up  of  the  festive 
sallies  of  wit  or  the  tender  expression  of  sentiment: 
The  greatest  geniuses  of  the  nation,  the  masters  of 
the  drama  and  of  the  ode,  while  they  astonish  us  by 
their  miracles  of  invention,  show  that  they  have  too 
often  kindled  their  inspiration  at  the  altars  of  the 
Inquisition. 

Debarred  as  he  was  from  freedom  of  speculation, 
the  domain  of  science  was  closed  against  the  Span 
iard.  Science  looks  to  perpetual  change.  It  turns 
to  the  past  to  gather  warning,  as  well  as  instruction, 
for  the  future.  Its  province  is  to  remove  old  abuses, 
to  explode  old  errors,  to  unfold  new  truths.  Its  con 
dition,  in  short,  is  that  of  progress.  But  in  Spain, 
every  thing  not  only  looked  to  the  past,  but  rested 
on  the  past.  Old  abuses  gathered  respect  from  their 
antiquity.  Reform  was  innovation,  and  innovation 
was  a  crime.  Far  from  progress,  all  was  stationary. 
The  hand  of  the  Inquisition  drew  the  line  which 
said,  "No  further!"  This  was  the  limit  of  human 
intelligence  in  Spain. 

The  effect  was  visible  in  every  department  of  science, 
— not  in  the  speculative  alone,  but  in  the  physical 
and  the  practical ;  in  the  declamatory  rant  of  its 
theology  and  ethics,  in  the  childish  and  chimerical 
schemes  of  its  political  economists.  In  every  walk 
were  to  be  seen  the  symptoms  of  premature  decrepi 
tude,  as  the  nation  clung  to  the  antiquated  systems 
which  the  march  of  civilization  in  other  countries 
had  long  since  effaced.  Hence  those  frantic  experi 
ments,  so  often  repeated,  in  the  financial  administra 
tion  of  the  kingdom,  which  made  Spain  the  byword 


FANATICISM  OF   THE   SPANIARDS. 


411 


of  the  nations,  and  which  ended  in  the  ruin  of  trade, 
the  prostration  of  credit,  and  finally  the  bankruptcy 
of  the  state.  But  we  willingly  turn  from  this  sad 
picture  of  the  destinies  of  the  country  to  a  more 
cheerful  scene  in  the  history  of  Philip. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

PHILIP'S   THIRD    MARRIAGE. 

Reception  of  Isabella. — Marriage-Festivities. — The  Queen's  Mode  of 
Life. — The  Court  removed  to  Madrid. 

1560. 

So  soon  as  Philip  should  be  settled  in  Spain,  it  had 
been  arranged  that  his  young  bride,  Elizabeth  of 
France,  should  cross  the  Pyrenees.  Early  in  January, 
1560,  Elizabeth, — or  Isabella,  to  use  the  correspond 
ing  name  by  which  she  was  known  to  the  Spaniards, — 
under  the  protection  of  the  Cardinal  de  Bourbon  and 
some  of  the  French  nobility,  reached  the  borders  of 
Navarre,  where  she  was  met  by  the  duke  of  Infantado, 
who  was  to  take  charge  of  the  princess  and  escort  her 
to  Castile. 

Inigo  Lopez  de  Mendoza,  fourth  duke  of  Infantado, 
was  the  head  of  the  most  illustrious  house  in  Castile. 
He  was  at  this  time  near  seventy  years  of  age,  having 
passed  most  of  his  life  in  attendance  at  court,  where 
he  had  always  occupied  the  position  suited  to  his  high 
birth  and  his  extensive  property,  which,  as  his  title 
intimated,  lay  chiefly  in  the  north.  He  was  a  fine 
specimen  of  the  old  Castilian  hidalgo,  and  displayed  a 
magnificence  in  his  way  of  living  that  became  his 
station.  He  was  well  educated,  for  the  time ;  and  his 
(412) 


RECEPTION  OF  ISABELLA.  413 

fondness  for  books  did  not  prevent  his  excelling  in 
all  knightly  exercises.  He  was  said  to  have  the  best 
library  and  the  best  stud  of  any  gentleman  in  Castile.1 

He  appeared  on  this  occasion  in  great  state,  accom 
panied  by  his  household  and  his  kinsmen,  the  heads 
of  the  noblest  families  in  Spain.  The  duke  was  at 
tended  by  some  fifty  pages,  who,  in  their  rich  dresses 
of  satin  and  brocade,  displayed  the  gay  colors  of  the 
house  of  Mendoza.  The  nobles  in  his  train,  all  suit 
ably  mounted,  were  followed  by  twenty-five  hundred 
gentlemen,  well  equipped,  like  themselves.  So  lavish 
were  the  Castilians  of  that  day  in  the  caparisons  of 
their  horses  that  some  of  these  are  estimated,  without 
taking  into  account  the  jewels  with  which  they  were 
garnished,  to  have  cost  no  less  than  two  thousand 
ducats  ! 2  The  same  taste  is  visible  at  this  day  in  their 
descendants,  especially  in  South  America  and  in  Mex 
ico,  where  the  love  of  barbaric  ornament  in  the  hous 
ings  and  caparisons  of  their  steeds  is  conspicuous 
among  all  classes  of  the  people. 

Several  days  were  spent  in  settling  the  etiquette  to 
be  observed  before  the  presentation  of.  the  duke  and 
his  followers  to  the  princess, — a  perilous  matter  with 
the  Spanish  hidalgo.  When  at  length  the  interview 

1  A  full  account  of  this  duke  of  Infantado  is  to  be  found  in  the 
extremely  rare  work  of  Nunez  de   Castro,  Historia  ecclesiastica  y 
seglar  de  Guadalajara  (Madrid,  1653),  p.  180,  et  seq.     Oviedo,  in  his 
curious  volumes  on  the  Castilian  aristocracy,  which  he  brings  down  to 
1556,  speaks  of  the  dukes  of  Infantado  as  having  a  body-guard  of  two 
hundred  men,  and  of  being  able  to  muster  a  force  of  thirty  thousand  ! 
Quincuagenas,  MS. 

2  "  A  via  gualdrapas  de  dos  mil  ducados  de  costa  sin  conputar  valor 
de  piedras."     Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  v.  cap.  7. 

35* 


414 


PHILIP'S   THIRD   MARRIAGE. 


took  place,  the  cardinal  of  Burgos,  the  duke's  brother, 
opened  it  by  a  formal  and  rather  long  address  to  Isa 
bella,  who  replied  in  a  tone  of  easy  gayety,  which, 
though  not  undignified,  savored  much  more  of  the  man 
ners  of  her  own  country  than  of  those  of  Spain.3  The 
place  of  meeting  was  at  Roncesvalles, — a  name  which 
to  the  reader  of  romance  may  call  up  scenes  very  dif 
ferent  from  those  presented  by  the  two  nations  now 
met  together  in  kindly  courtesy.4 

From  Roncesvalles  the  princess  proceeded,  under 
the  strong  escort  of  the  duke,  to  his  town  of  Guada 
lajara  in  New  Castile,  where  her  marriage  with  King 
Philip  was  to  be  solemnized.  Great  preparations  were 
made  by  the  loyal  citizens  for  celebrating  the  event 
in  a  manner  honorable  to  their  own  master  and  their 
future  queen.  A  huge  mound,  or  what  might  be  called 
a  hill,  was  raised  at  the  entrance  of  the  town,  where  a 
grove  of  natural  oaks  had  been  transplanted,  among 
which  was  to  be  seen  abundance  of  game.  Isabella  was 
received  by  the  magistrates  of  the  place,  and  escorted 
through  the  principal  streets  by  a  brilliant  cavalcade, 
composed  of  the  great  nobility  of  the  court.  She  was 
dressed  in  ermine,  and  rode  a  milk-white  palfrey, 
which  she  managed  with  an  easy  grace  that  delighted 

3  "  Elle  repondit  d'un  air  riant,  et  avec  des  termes  pleins  tout  en 
semble  de  douceur  et  de  majeste."     De  Thou,  torn.  iii.  p.  426. 

4  We  have  a  minute  account  of  this  interview  from  the  pens  of  two 
of  Isabella's  train,  who  accompanied  her  to  Castile,  and  whose  letters 
to  the  cardinal  of  Lorraine  are  to  be  found  in  the  valuable  collection 
of  historical  documents  the  publication  of  which  was  begun  under 
the  auspices  of  Louis  Philippe.     Documents  inedits  sur  1'Histoire  de 
France,  Negotiations,  etc.  relatives  au  Regne  de  Frai^ois  II.,  p.  171, 
et  seq. 


MARRIA  GE-FESTIVITIES.  4 1 5 

the  multitude.  On  one  side  of  her  rode  the  duke  of 
Infantado,  and  on  the  other  the  cardinal  of  Burgos. 
After  performing  her  devotions  at  the  church,  where 
Te  Deum  was  chanted,  she  proceeded  to  the  ducal 
palace,  in  which  the  marriage-ceremony  was  to  be 
performed.  On  her  entering  the  court,  the  Princess 
Joanna  came  down  to  receive  her  sister-in  law,  and, 
after  an  affectionate  salutation,  conducted  her  to  the 
saloon,  where  Philip,  attended  by  his  son,  was  awaiting 
his  bride.5 

It  was  the  first  time  that  Isabella  had  seen  her  des 
tined  lord.  She  now  gazed  on  him  so  intently  that  he 
good-humoredly  asked  her  "  if  she  were  looking  to  see 
if  he  had  any  gray  hairs  in  his  head."  The  bluntness 
of  the  question  somewhat  disconcerted  her.6  Philip's 
age  was  not  much  less  than  that  at  which  the  first  gray 
hairs  made  their  appearance  on  his  father's  temples. 
Yet  the  discrepancy  between  the  ages  of  the  parties  in 
the  present  instance  was  not  greater  than  often  happens 
in  a  royal  union.  Isabella  was  in  her  fifteenth  year,7 
and  Philip  in  his  thirty-fourth. 

5  Lucio  Marineo,  in  his  curious  farrago  of  notable  matters,  speaks 
of  the  sumptuous  residence  of  the  dukes  of  Infantado  in  Guadalajara : 
"  Los  muy  magnificos  y  sumpticosos  palacios  que  alii  estan  de  los  muy 
illustres  duques  de  la  casa  muy  antigua  de  los  Mendo9as."     Cosas 
memorables,  fol.  13. 

6  "  J'ay  ouy  conter  a  une  de  ses  dames  que  la  premiere  fois  qu'elle 
vist  son  mary,  elle  se  mit  a  le  contempler  si  fixement,  que  le  Roy,  ne 
le  trouvant  pas  bon,  luy  demanda :  Que  mirais,  si  tengo  canas  ?  c'est- 
a-dire,  '  Que  regardez-vous,  si  j'ai  les  cheveux  blancs?'    Ces  mots  luy 
toucherent  si  fort  au  coeur  que  depuis  on  augura  mal  pour  elle." 
Brantome,  CEuvres,  torn.  v.  p.  131. 

7  In  this  statement  I  conform  to  Sismondi's  account.    In  the  present 
instance,  however,  there  is  even  more  uncertainty  than  is  usual  in 


4i 6  PHILIP'S   THIRD   MARRIAGE. 

From  all  accounts,  the  lady's  youth  was  her  least 
recommendation.  "Elizabeth  de  Valois,"  says  Bran- 
tome,  who  knew  her  well,  "was  a  true  daughter  of 
France, — discreet,  witty,  beautiful,  and  good,  if  ever 
woman  was  so."8  She  was  well  made,  and  tall  of 
stature,  and  on  this  account  the  more  admired  in 
Spain,  where  the  women  are  rarely  above  the  middle 
height.  Her  eyes  were  dark,  and  her  luxuriant  tresses, 
of  the  same  dark  color,  shaded  features  that  were  deli 
cately  fair.9  There  was  sweetness  mingled  with  dig 
nity  in  her  deportment,  in  which  Castilian  stateliness 
seemed  to  be  happily  tempered  by  the  vivacity  of  her 
own  nation.  "So  attractive  was  she,"  continues  the 
gallant  old  courtier,  "that  no  cavalier  durst  look  on 
her  long,  for  fear  of  losing  his  heart,  which  in  that 
jealous  court  might  have  proved  the  loss  of  his  life."10 

Some  of  the  chroniclers  notice  a  shade  of  melan 
choly  as  visible  on  Isabella's  features,  which  they  refer 
to  the  comparison  the  young  bride  was  naturally  led 

regard  to  a  lady's  age.  According  to  Cabrera,  Isabella  was  eighteen 
at  the  time  of  her  marriage ;  while  De  Thou  makes  her  only  eleven 
when  the  terms  of  the  alliance  were  arranged  by  the  commissioners 
at  Cateau-Cambresis.  These  are  the  extremes,  but  within  them  there 
is  no  agreement  among  the  authorities  I  have  consulted. 

8  "  Elizabeth  de  France,  et  vraye  fille  de  France,  en  tout  belle, 
sage,  vertueuse,  spirituelle  et  bonne,  s'il  en  fust  oncques."    Brantome, 
CEuvres,  torn.  v.  p.  126. 

9  "  Son  visage  estoit  beau,  et  ses  cheveux  et  yeux  noirs,  qui  adom- 
broient  son  teint.  .  .  .  Sa  taille  estoit  tres  belle,  et  plus  grande  que 
toutes  ses  sceurs,  qui  la  rendoit  fort  admirable  en  Espagne,  d'autant 
q-ie  les  tailles  hautes  y  sont  rares,  et  pour  ce  fort  estimables."     Ibid., 
p.  128. 

*o  "  Les  seigneurs  ne  1'osoient  regarder  de  peur  d'en  estre  espris, 
et  en  causer  jalousie  au  roy  son  mary,  et  par  consequent  eux  courir 
fortune  de  la  vie."  Ibid.,  p.  128. 


MARRIA  GE-FES  T2  VI  TIES.  41 7 

to  make  between  her  own  lord  and  his  son,  the  prince 
of  Asturias,  for  whom  her  hand  had  been  originally 
intended."  But  the  daughter  of  Catherine  de  Medicis, 
they  are  careful  to  add,  had  been  too  well  trained, 
from  her  cradle,  not  to  know  how  to  disguise  her  feel 
ings.  Don  Carlos  had  one  advantage  over  his  father, 
in  his  youth;  though  in  this  respect,  since  he  was  but 
a  boy  of  fourteen,  he  might  be  thought  to  fall  as  much 
too  short  of  the  suitable  age  as  the  king  exceeded  it. 
It  is  also  intimated  by  the  same  gossiping  writers  that 
from  this  hour  of  their  meeting,  touched  by  the  charms 
of  his  step-mother,  the  prince  nourished  a  secret  feel 
ing  of  resentment  against  his  father,  who  had  thus 
come  between  him  and  his  beautiful  betrothed.12  It  is 
this-light  gossip  of  the  chroniclers  that  has  furnished 
the  romancers  of  later  ages  with  the  flimsy  materials 
for  that  web  of  fiction  which  displays  in  such  glowing 
colors  the  loves  of  Carlos  and  Isabella.  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  return  to  this  subject  when  treating  of  the 
fate  of  this  unhappy  prince. 

When  the  nuptials  were  concluded,  the  good  people 

11  "  La  regina  istessa  parue  non  so  come  sorpressa  da  vn  sentimento 
di  malinconica  passione,  nel  vedersi  abbracciare  da  vn  re  di  33  anni, 
di  garbo  ordinario  alia  presenza  d'  vn  giouine  prencipe  molto  ben 
fatto,  e  che  prima  dell'  altro  1'  era  stato  promesso  in  sposo."     Leti, 
Vita  di  Filippo  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  345. 

12  Brantome,  who  was  certainly  one  of  those  who  believed  in  the 
jealousy  of  Philip,  if  not  in  the  passion  of  Isabella,  states  the  circum 
stance  of  the  king's  supplanting  his  son  in  a  manner  sufficiently  naive  : 
11  Mais  le  roy  d'Espagne  son  pere,  venant  a  estre  veuf  par  le  trespas 
de  la  reyne  d'Angleterre  sa  femme  et  sa  cousine  germaine,  ayant  veu 
le  pourtraict  de  madame  Elizabeth,  et  la  trouvant  fort  belle  et  fort  a 
son  gre,  en  coupa  1'herbe  soubs  le  pied  a  son  fils,  et  la  prit  pour  luy, 
commen9ant  cette  charite  a  soy  mesme."     CEuvres,  torn.  v.  p.  127. 

s* 


4i 8  PHILIP'S    THIRD  MARRIAGE. 

of  Guadalajara  testified  their  loyalty  by  all  kinds  of 
festivities  in  honor  of  the  event, — by  fireworks,  music, 
and  dancing.  The  fountains  flowed  with  generous 
liquor.  Tables  were  spread  in  the  public  squares, 
laden  with  good  cheer,  and  freely  open  to  all.  In 
the  evening,  the  regidores  of  the  town,  to  the  number 
of  fifty  or  more,  presented  themselves  before  the  king 
and  queen.  They  were  dressed  in  their  gaudy  liveries 
of  crimson  and  yellow  velvet,  and  each  one  of  these 
functionaries  bore  a  napkin  on  his  arm,  while  he  car 
ried  a  plate  of  sweetmeats,  which  he  presented  to  the 
royal  pair  and  the  ladies  of  the  court.  The  following 
morning  Philip  and  his  consort  left  the  hospitable 
walls  of  Guadalajara  and  set  out  with  their  whole  suite 
for  Toledo.  At  parting,  the  duke  of  Infantado  made 
the  queen  and  her  ladies  presents  of  jewels,  lace,  and 
other  rich  articles  of  dress ;  and  the  sovereigns  took 
leave  of  their  noble  host,  well  pleased  with  the  princely 
entertainment  he  had  given  them.13 

At  Toledo,  preparations  were  made  for  the  reception 
of  Philip  and  Isabella  in  a  style  worthy  of  the  renown 
of  that  ancient  capital  of  the  Visigoths.  In  the  broad 
vega  before  the  city,  three  thousand  of  the  old  Spanish 
infantry  engaged  in  a  mock  encounter  with  a  body  of 
Moorish  cavalry  having  their  uniforms  and  caparisons 
fancifully  trimmed  and  ornamented  in  the  Arabesque 
fashion.  Then  followed  various  national  dances  by 

X3  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  v.  cap.  6. — Florez,  Reynas  Catho- 
licas,  p.  897. — "  A  la  despedida  presento  el  Duque  del  Ynfantado  al 
Rey,  Reyna,  Damas,  Duenas  de  honor,  y  d  las  de  la  Camara  ricas 
joyas  de  oro  y  plata,  telas,  guantes,  y  otras  preseas  tan  ricas,  por  la 
prolixidad  del  arte,  como  por  lo  precioso  de  la  materia."  De  Castro 
Hist,  de  Guadalajara,  p.  116. 


MA  RRIA  GE-FES  Tl  VI 7  7ES. 


419 


beautiful  maidens  of  Toledo,  dances  of  the  Gypsies, 
and  the  old  Spanish  "war-dance  of  the  swords."14 

On  entering  the  gates,  the  royal  pair  were  welcomed 
by  the  municipality  of  the  city,  who  supported  a 
canopy  of  cloth  of  gold  over  the  heads  of  the  king  and 
queen,  emblazoned  with  their  ciphers.  A  procession 
was  formed,  consisting  of  the  principal  magistrates,  the 
members  of  the  military  orders,  the  officers  of  the  In 
quisition, — for  Toledo  was  one  of  the  principal  stations 
of  the  secret  tribunal, — and,  lastly,  the  chief  nobles 
of  the  court.  In  the  cavalcade  might  be  discerned  the 
iron  form  of  the  duke  of  Alva,  and  his  more  courtly 
rival,  Ruy  Gomez  de  Silva,  count  of  Melito, — the  two 
nobles  highest  in  the  royal  confidence.  Triumphal 
arches,  ornamented  with  quaint  devices  and  emblemat 
ical  figures  from  ancient  mythology,  were  thrown  across 
the  streets,  which  were  filled  with  shouting  multitudes. 
Gay  wreaths  of  flowers  and  flaunting  streamers  adorned 
the  verandas  and  balconies,  which  were  crowded  with 
spectators  of  "both  sexes  in  their  holiday  attire,  making 
a  show  of  gaudy  colors  that  reminds  an  old  chronicler 
of  the  richly-tinted  tapestries  and  carpetings  of  Flan 
ders.13  In  this  royal  state  the  new-married  pair  moved 
along  the  streets  towards  the  great  cathedral;  and  after 
paying  their  devotions  at  its  venerable  shrine  they  re 
paired  to  the  alcazar, — the  palace-fortress  of  Toledo. 

*4  "  Dallas  de  hermosisimas  donzellas  de  la  Sagra,  i  las  de  espadas 
antigua  invencion  de  Espanoles."  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  v. 
cap.  6. 

JS  "  For  la  mucha  hermosura  que  avia  en  las  damas  de  la  ciudad  i 
Corte,  el  adorno  de  los  miradores  i  calles,  las  libreas  costosas  i  varias 
i  muchas,  que  todo  hazia  un  florido  campo  o  lier^o  de  Flandres." 
Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 


42O 


PHILIP'S    THIRD  MARRIAGE. 


For  some  weeks,  during  which  the  sovereigns  re 
mained  in  the  capital,  there  was  a  general  jubilee.16 
All  the  national  games  of  Spain  were  exhibited  to  the 
young  queen ;  the  bull-fight,  the  Moorish  sport  of  the 
canas,  or  tilt  of  reeds,  and  tournaments  on  horseback 
and  on  foot,  in  both  of  which  Philip  often  showed 
himself  armed  cap-d-pie  in  the  lists  and  did  his  devoir 
in  the  presence  of  his  fair  bride,  as  became  a  loyal 
knight.  Another  show,  which  might  have  been  better 
reserved  for  a  less  joyous  occasion,  was  exhibited  to 
Isabella.  As  the  court  and  the  cortes  were  drawn 
together  in  Toledo,  the  Holy  Office  took  the  occasion 
to  celebrate  an  auto  defe,  which,  from  the  number  of 
the  victims  and  quality  of  the  spectators,  was  the  most 
imposing  spectacle  of  the  kind  ever  witnessed  in  that 
capital. 

16  The  royal  nuptials  were  commemorated  in  a  Latin  poem,  in  two 
books,  "  De  Pace  et  Nuptiis  Philippi  et  Isabellas."  It  was  the  work 
of  Fernando  Ruiz  de  Villegas,  an  eminent  scholar  of  that  day,  whose 
writings  did  not  make  their  appearance  in  print  till,  nearly  two  cen 
turies  later, — and  then  not  in  his  own  land,  but  in  Italy.  In  this 
epithalamium,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  the  poet  represents  Juno  as 
invoking  Jupiter  to  interfere  in  behalf  of  the  French  monarchy,  that 
it  may  not  be  crushed  by  the  arms  of  Spain.  Venus,  under  the  form 
of  the  duke  of  Alva, — as  effectual  a  disguise  as  could  be  imagined, — 
takes  her  seat  in  the  royal  council,  and  implores  Philip  to  admit  France 
to  terms,  and  to  accept  the  hand  of  Isabella  as  the  pledge  of  peace 
between  the  nations.  Philip  graciously  relents;  peace  is  proclaimed  ; 
the  marriage  between  the  parties  is  solemnized,  with  fhe  proper  Chris 
tian  rites ;  and  Venus  appears,  in  her  own  proper  shape,  to  bless  the 
nuptials  !  One  might  have  feared  that  this  jumble  of  Christian  rites 
and  heathen  mythology  would  have  scandalized  the  Holy  Office  and 
exposed  its  ingenious  author  to  the  honors  of  a  san  benito.  But  the 
poet  wore  his  laurels  unscathed,  and,  for  aught  I  know  to  the  con 
trary,  died  quietly  in  his  bed.  See  Opera  Ferdinandi  Ruizii  Villegatis 
(Venetiis,  1736),  pp.  30-70. 


MARRIAGE-FESTIVITIES.  421 

No  country  in  Europe  has  so  distinct  an  individuality 
as  Spain ;  shown  not  merely  in  the  character  of  the  in 
habitants,  but  in  the  smallest  details  of  life, — in  their 
national  games,  their  dress,  their  social  usages.  The 
tenacity  with  which  the  people  have  clung  to  these 
amidst  all  the  changes  of  dynasties  and  laws  is  truly 
admirable.  Separated  by  their  mountain-barrier  from 
the  central  and  eastern  parts  of  Europe,  and  during 
the  greater  part  of  their  existence  brought  into  contact 
with  Oriental  forms  of  civilization,  the  Spaniards  have 
been  but  little  exposed  to  those  influences  which  have 
given  a  homogeneous  complexion  to  the  other  nations 
of  Christendom.  The  system  under  which  they  have 
been  trained  is  too  peculiar  to  be  much  affected  by 
these  influences,  and  the  ideas  transmitted  from  their 
ancestors  are  too  deeply  settled  in  their  minds  to  be 
easily  disturbed.  The  present  in  Spain  is  but  the  mir 
ror  of  the  past.  In  other  countries  fashions  become 
antiquated,  old  errors  exploded,  early  tastes  reformed. 
Not  so  in  the  Peninsula.  The  .traveller  has  only  to 
cross  the  Pyrenees  to  find  himself  a  contemporary  of 
the  sixteenth  century.* 

The  festivities  of  the  court  were  suddenly  termi 
nated  by  the  illness  of  Isabella,  who  was  attacked  by 
the  smallpox.  Her  life  was  in  no  danger ;  but  great 
fears  were  entertained  lest  the  envious  disease  should 
prove  fatal  to  her  beauty.  Her  mother,  Catherine  de 
Medicis,  had  great  apprehensions  on  this  point;  and 

*  [The  qualifications  which  this  remark  would  require,  if  meant  to 
be  taken  literally,  will  occur  to  most  readers,  even  among  those  who 
have  never  crossed  what  is  somewhat  curiously  described  as  the 
mountain-barrier  separating  Spain  from  "  the  central  and  eastern  parts 
of  Europe."— ^jxl 

Thilip.— VOL.  I.  36 


422 


PHILIP'S    THIRD   MARRIAGE. 


couriers  crossed  the  Pyrenees  frequently,  during  the 
queen's  illness,  bringing  prescriptions — some  of  them 
rather  extraordinary — from  the  French  doctors  for 
preventing  the  ravages  of  the  disorder.17  Whether 
it  was  by  reason  of  these  nostrums,  or  her  own  excel 
lent  constitution,  the  queen  was  fortunate  enough  to 
escape  from  the  sick-room  without  a  scar. 

Philip  seems  to  have  had  much  reason  to  be  con 
tented  not  only  with  the  person  but  the  disposition 
of  his  wife.  As  her  marriage  had  formed  one  of  the 
articles  in  the  treaty  with  France,  she  was  called  by 
the  Spaniards  Isabel  de  la  Paz, — "  Isabella  of  the 
Peace."  Her  own  countrymen  no  less  fondly  styled 
her  "the  Olive-Branch  of  Peace," — intimating  the 
sweetness  of  her  disposition.18  In  this  respect  she 
may  be  thought  to  have  formed  a  contrast  to  Philip's 
former  wife,  Mary  of  England ;  at  least  after  sickness 
and  misfortune  had  done  their  work  upon  that  queen's 
temper,  in  the  latter  part  of  her  life. 

If  Isabella  was  not  a  scholar,  like  Mary,  she  at  least 
was  well  instructed  for  the  time,  and  was  fond  of  read 
ing,  especially  poetry.  She  had  a  ready  apprehension, 
and  learned  in  a  short  time  to  speak  the  Castilian  with 
tolerable  fluency,  while  there  was  something  pleasing 

*7  The  sovereign  remedy,  according  to  the  curious  Brantome,  was 
new-laid  eggs.  It  is  a  pity  the  prescription  should  be  lost :  "  On  luy 
secourust  son  visage  si  bien  par  des  sueurs  d'oeufs  frais,  chose  fort 
propre  pour  cela,  qu'il  n'y  parut  rien ;  dont  j'en  vis  la  Reyne  sa  mere 
fort  curieuse  &  luy  envoyer  par  force  couriers  beaucoup  de  remedes, 
mais  celui  de  la  sueur  d'osuf  en  estoit  le  souverain."  CEuvres,  torn, 
v.  p.  129. 

18  "  Aussi  1'appelloit-on  la  Reyna  de  la  paz  y  de  la  bondad,  c'est-a- 
dire  la  Reyne  de  la  paix  et  de  la  bonte ;  et  nos  Fran9ois  1'appellarent 
1'olive  de  paix."  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 


THE    QUEEN'S  MODE    OF  LIFE.  423 

in  her  foreign  accent,  that  made  her  pronunciation  the 
more  interesting.  She  accommodated  herself  so  well 
to  the  usages  of  her  adopted  nation  that  she  soon  won 
the  hearts  of  the  Spaniards.  "No  queen  of  Castile," 
says  the  loyal  Brantome,  "with  due  deference  to  Isa 
bella  the  Catholic,  was  ever  so  popular  in  the  country." 
When  she  went  abroad,  it  was  usually  with  her  face 
uncovered,  after  the  manner  of  her  countrywomen. 
The  press  was  always  great  around  her  whenever  she 
appeared  in  public,  and  happy  was  the  man  who  could 
approach  so  near  as  to  get  a  glimpse  of  her  beautiful 
countenance.19 

Yet  Isabella  never  forgot  the  land  of  her  birth; 
and  such  of  her  countrymen  as  visited  the  Castilian 
court  were  received  by  her  with  distinguished  cour 
tesy.  She  brought  along  with  her  in  her  train  to 
Castile  several  French  ladies  of  rank,  as  her  maids 
of  honor.  But  a  rivalry  soon  grew  up  between  them 
and  the  Spanish  ladies  in  the  palace,  which  com 
pelled  the  queen,  after  she  had  in  vain  attempted  to 
reconcile  the  parties,  to  send  back  most  of  her  own 
countrywomen.  In  doing  so,  she  was  careful  to  pro 
vide  them  with  generous  marriage-portions.20 

*9  "  Et  bien  heureux  et  heureuse  estoit  celuy  ou  celle  qui  pouvoit  le 
soir  dire  '  J'ay  veu  la  Reyne.'  "  Brantome,  CEuvres,  torn.  v.  p.  129. 

20  The  difficulty  began  so  soon  as  Isabella  had  crossed  the  borders. 
The  countess  of  Urena,  sister  of  the  duke  of  Albuquerque,  one  of 
the  train  of  the  duke  of  Infantado,  claimed  precedence  of  the  countess 
of  Rieux  and  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  kinswomen  of  the  queen. 
The  latter  would  have  averted  the  discussion  by  giving  the  Castilian 
dame  a  seat  in  her  carriage ;  but  the  haughty  countess  chose  to  take 
the  affair  into  her  own  hands ;  and  her  servants  came  into  collision 
with  those  of  the  French  ladies,  as  they  endeavored  to  secure  a  place 
for  their  mistress's  litter  near  the  queen.  Isabella,  with  all  her  desire 


424  PHILIP'S    THIRD   MARRIAGE. 

The  queen  maintained  great  state  in  her  household, 
as  was  Philip's  wish,  who  seems  to  have  lavished  on 
his  lovely  consort  those  attentions  for  which  the 
unfortunate  Mary  Tudor  had  pined  in  vain.  Besides 
a  rare  display  of  jewels,  Isabella's  wardrobe  was  ex 
ceedingly  rich.  Few  of  her  robes  cost  less  than 
three  or  four  hundred  crowns  each, — a  great  sum  for 
the  time.  Like  her  namesake  and  contemporary, 
Elizabeth  of  England,  she  rarely  wore  the  same  dress 
twice.  But  she  gave  away  the  discarded  suit  to  her 
attendants,21  unlike  in  this  to  the  English  queen,  who 
hoarded  up  her  wardrobe  so  carefully  that  at  her 
death  it  must  have  displayed  every  fashion  of  her 
reign.  Bran  tome,  who,  both  as  a  Frenchman  and  as 
one  who  had  seen  the  queen  often  in  the  court  of 
Castile,  may  be  considered  a  judge  in  the  matter, 
dwells  with  rapture  on  the  elegance  of  her  costume, 
the  matchless  taste  in  its  arrangement,  and  the  per 
fection  of  her  coiffure. 

A  manuscript  of  the  time,  by  an  eye-witness,  gives 
a  few  particulars  respecting  her  manner  of  living,  in 
which  some  readers  may  take  an  interest.  Among 
the  persons  connected  with  the  queen's  establishment, 

to  accommodate  matters,  had  the  spirit  to  decide  in  favor  of  her  own 
followers,  and  the  aspiring  lady  was  compelled — with  an  ill  grace— to 
give  way  to  the  blood  royal  of  France.  It  was  easier,  as  Isabella,  or 
rather  as  her  husband,  afterwards  found,  to  settle  disputes  between 
rival  states  than  between  the  rival  beauties  of  a  court.  The  affair  is 
told  by  Lansac,  Negociations  relatives  au  Regne  de  Francois  II.,  p.  171. 
21  "  Elle  ne  porta  jamais  une  robe  deux  fois,  et  puis  la  donnoit  a 
ses  femmes  et  ses  filles :  et  Dieu  S£ait  quelles  robbes,  si  riches  et  si 
superbes,  que  la  moindre  estoit  de  trois  ou  quatre  cens  escus ;  car  le 
Roy  son  mary  1'entretenoit  fort  superbement  de  ces  choses  la."  Bran- 
tome,  CEuvres,  torn.  v.  p.  140. 


THE    QUEEN'S  MODE    OF  LIFE.  425 

the  writer  mentions  her  confessor,  her  almoner,  and 
four  physicians.  The  medical  art  seems  to  have  been 
always  held  in  high  repute  in  Spain,  though  in  no 
country,  considering  the  empirical  character  of  its 
professors,  with  so  little  reason.  At  dinner  the  queen 
was  usually  attended  by  some  thirty  of  her  ladies. 
Two  of  them,  singularly  enough  as  it  may  seem  to 
us,  performed  the  office  of  carvers.  Another  served 
as  cupbearer,  and  stood  by  her  majesty's  chair.  The 
rest  of  her  attendants  stood  round  the  apartment, 
conversing  with  their  gallants,  who,  in  a  style  to 
which  she  had  not  been  used  in  the  French  court, 
kept  their  heads  covered  during  the  repast.  "They 
were  there,"  they  said,  "not  to  wait  on  the  queen, 
but  her  ladies."  After  her  solitary  meal  was  over, 
Isabella  retired  with  her  attendants  to  her  chamber, 
where,  with  the  aid  of  music  and  such  mirth  as  the 
buffoons  and  jesters  of  the  palace  could  afford,  she 
made  shift  to  pass  the  evening.22 

Such  is  the  portrait  which  her  contemporaries  have 
left  us  of  Elizabeth  of  France,  and  such  the  accounts 
of  her  popularity  with  the  nation,  and  the  state  main 
tained  in  her  establishment.  Well  might  Brantome 
sadly  exclaim,  "Alas!  what  did  it  all  avail?"  A 
few  brief  years  only  were  to  pass  away  before  this 
spoiled  child  of  fortune,  the  delight  of  the  mon 
arch,  the  ornament  and  pride  of  the  court,  was  to 
exchange  the  pomps  and  glories  of  her  royal  state 
for  the  dark  chambers  of  the  Escorial. 

«  The  MS.,  which  is  in  Italian,  is  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Paris. 
See  the  extracts  from  it  in  Raumer's  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Cen 
turies,  vol.  i.  p.  104,  et  seq. 

36* 


426  PHILIP'S   THIRD  MARRIAGE. 

From  Toledo  the  court  proceeded  to  Valladolid, 
long  the  favorite  residence  of  the  Castilian  princes, 
though  not  the  acknowledged  capital  of  the  country. 
Indeed,  there  was  no  city,  since  the  time  of  the  Visi 
goths,  that  could  positively  claim  that  pre-eminence. 
This  honor  was  reserved  for  Madrid,  which  became 
the  established  residence  of  the  court  under  Philip, 
who  in  this  but  carried  out  the  ideas  of  his  father, 
Charles  the  Fifth. 

The  emperor  had  passed  much  time  in  this  place, 
where,  strange  to  say,  the  chief  recommendation  to 
him  seems  to  have  been  the  climate.  Situated  on  a 
broad  expanse  of  table-land,  at  an  elevation  of  twenty- 
four  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  brisk 
and  rarefied  atmosphere  of  Madrid  proved  favorable 
to  Charles's  health.  It  preserved  him,  in  particular, 
from  attacks  of  the  fever  and  ague,  which  racked  his 
constitution  almost  as  much  as  the  gout.  In  the 
ancient  alcazar  of  the  Moors  he  found  a  stately 
residence,  which  he  made  .commodious  by  various 
alterations.  Philip  extended  these  improvements. 
He  added  new  apartments,  and  spent  much  money 
in  enlarging  and  embellishing  the  old  ones.  The 
ceilings  were  gilded  and  richly  carved.  The  walls 
were  hung  with  tapestries,  and  the  saloons  and  gal 
leries  decorated  with  sculpture  and  with  paintings, 
— many  of  them  the  productions  of  native  artists, 
the  first  disciples  of  a  school  which  was  one  day  to 
rival  the  great  masters  of  Italy.  Extensive  grounds 
were  also  laid  out  around  the  palace,  and  a  park  was 
formed,  which  in  time  came  to  be  covered  with  a 
growth  of  noble  trees,  and  well  stocked  with  game. 


THE   COURT  REMOVED    TO   MADRID.       427 

The  alcazar,  thus  improved,  became  a  fitting  resi 
dence  for  the  sovereign  of  Spain.  Indeed,  if  we 
may  trust  the  magnificent  vaunt  of  a  contemporary, 
it  was  "allowed  by  foreigners  to  be  the  rarest  thing 
of  the  kind  possessed  by  any  monarch  in  Christen 
dom."23  It  continued  to  be  the  abode  of  the  Spanish 
princes  until,  in  1734,  in  the  reign  of  Philip  the 
Fifth,  the  building  was  destroyed  by  a  fire,  which 
lasted  nearly  a  week.  But  it  rose  like  a  phcenix 
from  its  ashes ;  and  a  new  palace  was  raised  on  the 
site  of  the  old  one,  of  still  larger  dimensions,  pre 
senting  in  the  beauty  of  its  materials  as  well  as  of 
its  execution  one  of  the  noblest  monuments  of  the 
architecture  of  the  eighteenth  century.24 

Having  completed  his  arrangements,  Philip  estab 
lished  his  residence  at  Madrid  in  1563.  The  town 
then  contained  about  twelve  thousand  inhabitants. 
Under  the  forcing  atmosphere  of  a  court,  the  popu 
lation  rose  by  the  end  of  his  long  reign  to  three 
hundred  thousand,25 — a  number  which  it  has  prob 
ably  not  since  exceeded.  The  accommodations  in 

23  "  Don  Felipe  Segundo  nuestro  senor,  el  cual  con  muy  suntuosas, 
y  exquisitas  iabricas  dignas  de  tan  grande  Principe,  de  nuevo  le  ilustra, 
de  manera  que  es,  consideradas  todas  sus  calidades,  la  mas  rara  casa 
que  ningun  Principe  tiene  en  el  mundo,  a  dicho  de  los  estrangeros.' 
Juan  Lopez,  ap.  Quintana,  Antiguedad,  Nobleza  y  Grandeza  de  la 
Villa  y  Corte  de  Madrid,  p.  331. 

24  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. — Sylva,  Poblacion  de  Espana  (Madrid,  1675), 
cap.  4. — Estrada,  Poblacion  de  Espana  (Madrid,  1748),  torn.  i.  p.  123. 

25  I  quote  the  words  of  a  work  now  become  very  scarce :  "  De  dos 
mil  y  quinientas  y  veinte  casas  que  tenia  Madrid  quando  su  Magestad 
traxo  desde  Toledo  a  ella  la  Corte,  en  las  quales  quando  mucho  avria 
de  doce  mil  a  catorce  mil  personas,  .  .  .  avia  el  ano  de  mil  y  quini- 
entos  y  noventa  y  ocho,  repartidas  en  trece  Parroquias  doce  mil  casas, 


428  PHILIP'S   THIRD   MARRIAGE. 

the  capital  kept  pace  with  the  increase  of  population. 
Everything  was  built  for  duration.  Instead  of  flimsy 
houses  that  might  serve  for  a  temporary  residence, 
the  streets  were  lined  with  strong  and  substantial 
edifices.  Under  the  royal  patronage  public  works  on 
a  liberal  scale  were  executed.  Madrid  was  ornamented 
with  bridges,  aqueducts,  hospitals,  the  Museum,  the 
Armory, — stately  structures  which  even  now  challenge 
our  admiration,  not  less  by  the  excellence  of  their 
designs  than  by  the  richness  of  their  collections  and 
the  enlightened  taste  which  they  infer  at  this  early 
period. 

In  the  opinion  of  its  inhabitants,  indeed  we  may  say 
of  the  nation,  Madrid  surpassed  not  only  every  other 
city  in  the  country,  but  in  Christendom.  "There  is 
but  one  Madrid,"  says  the  Spanish  proverb.26  "When 
Madrid  is  the  theme,  the  world  listens  in  silence!"27 
In  a  similar  key,  the  old  Castilian  writers  celebrate 
the  glories  of  their  capital, — the  nursery  of  wit, 
genius,  and  gallantry, — and  expatiate  on  the  tem 
perature  of  a  climate  propitious  alike  to  the  beauty 
of  the  women  and  the  bravery  of  the  men.28 

y  en  ellas  trescientas  mil  personas  y  mas."  Quintana,  Antiguedad  de 
Madrid,  p.  331."* 

26  "  No  hay  sino  un  Madrid." 

"7  "  Donde  Madrid  esta,  calle  el  Mundo." 

28  "  NO  se  conoce  cielo  mas  benevolo,  mas  apacible  clima,  influxo 
mas  favorable,  con  que  sobresalen  hermosos  rostros,  disposiciones 
gallardas,  lucidos  ingenios,  cora£ones  valientes,  y  generosos  animos." 
Sylva,  Poblacion  de  Espana,  cap.  4. 


*  [There  is  an  obvious  discordancy  in  these  numbers:  twelve 
thousand  houses  cannot  have  sheltered  a  population  of  three  hundred 
thousand  persons. — ED.] 


THE    COURT  REMOVED    TO   MADRID.       429 

Yet,  with  all  this  lofty  panegyric,  the  foreigner  is 
apt  to  see  things  through  a  very  different  medium 
from  that  through  which  they  are  seen  by  the  patriotic 
eye  of  the  native.  The  traveller  to  Madrid  finds  little 
to  praise  in  a  situation  where  the  keen  winds  from  the 
mountains  come  laden  with  disease,  and  where  the 
subtle  atmosphere,  to  use  one  of  the  national  proverbs, 
that  can  hardly  put  out  a  candle,  will  extinguish  the 
life  of  a  man ; 29  where  the  capital,  insulated  in  the 
midst  of  a  dreary  expanse  of  desert,  seems  to  be  cut 
off  from  sympathy,  if  not  from  intercourse,  with  the 
provinces ;  ^  and  where,  instead  of  a  great  river  that 
might  open  to  it  a  commerce  with  distant  quarters  of 
the  globe,  it  is  washed  only  by  a  stream, — "the  far- 
famed  Manzanares," — the  bed  of  which  in  summer  is 
a  barren  water-course.  The  traveller  may  well  doubt 
whether  the  fanciful  advantage,  so  much  vaunted,  of 
being  the  centre  of  Spain,  is  sufficient  to  compensate 
the  manifold  evils  of  such  a  position,  and  even  whether 
those  are  far  from  truth  who  find  in  this  position  one 
of  the  many  causes  of  the  decline  of  the  national  pros 
perity.31 

29  "  El  aire  de  Madrid  es  tan  sotil 

Que  mata  a  un  hombre,  y  no  apaga  a  un  candil." 

3°  Lucio  Marineo  gives  a  very  different  view  of  the  environs  of 
Madrid  in  Ferdinand  and  Isabella's  time.  The  picture,  by  the  hand 
of  a  contemporary,  affords  so  striking  a  contrast  to.  the  present  time 
that  it  is  worth  quoting:  "  Corren  por  ella  los  ayres  muy  delgados : 
por  los  quales  siepre  bive  la  gete  muy  sana.  Tiene  mas  este  lugar 
grades  terminos  y  campos  muy  fertiles :  los  quales  llama  lomos  de 
Madrid.  Por  que  cojen  en  ellos  mucho  pan  y  vino,  y  otras  cosas 
necessarias  y  matenimientos  muy  sanos."  Cosas  memorables  de 
Espana,  fol.  13. 

3*  Such  at  least  is  Ford's  opinion.     (See  the  Handbook  of  Spain, 


430  1JHILIP'S   THIRD   MARRIAGE. 

A  full  experience  of  the  inconveniences  of  the  sitr 
of  the  capital  led  Charles  the  Third  to  contemplate  its 
removal  to  Seville.  But  it  was  too  late.  Madrid  had 
been  too  long,  in  the  Castilian  boast,  "the  only  court 
in  the  world,"32 — the  focus  to  which  converged  talent, 
fashion,  and  wealth  from  all  quarters  of  the  country. 
Too  many  patriotic  associations  had  gathered  round  it 
to  warrant  its  desertion ;  and,  in  spite  of  its  local  dis 
advantages,  the  capital  planted  by  Philip  the  Second 
continued  to  remain,  as  it  will  probably  ever  remain, 
the  capital  of  the  Spanish  monarchy. 

p.  720,  et  seq.)  His  clever  and  caustic  remarks  on  the  climate  of 
Madrid  will  disenchant  the  traveller  whose  notions  of  the  capital 
have  been  derived  only  from  the  reports  of  the  natives. 

a2  "  Solo  Madrid  es  corte." — Ford,  who  has  certainly  not  ministered 
to  the  vanity  of  the  Madrilefio,  has  strung  together  these  various  prov 
erbs  with  good  effect. 


CHAPTER    V. 

DISCONTENT    IN    THE    NETHERLANDS. 

The  Reformation. — Its  Progress  in  the  Netherlands. — General  Dis 
content. — William  of  Orange. 

THE  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  presented  one 
of  those  crises  which  have  occurred  at  long  intervals  in 
the  history  of  Europe,  when  the  course  of  events  has 
had  a  permanent  influence  on  the  destiny  of  nations. 
Scarcely  forty  years  had  elapsed  since  Luther  had 
thrown  down  the  gauntlet  to  the  Vatican  by  publicly 
burning  the  papal  bull  at  Wittenberg.  Since  that 
time,  his  doctrines  had  been  received  in  Denmark  and 
Sweden.  In  England,  after  a  state  of  vacillation  for 
three  reigns,  Protestantism,  in  the  peculiar  form  which 
it  still  wears,  was  become  the  established  religion  of 
the  state.  The  fiery  cross  had  gone  round  over  the 
hills  and  valleys  of  Scotland,  and  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands  had  gathered  to  hear  the  word  of  life 
from  the  lips  of  Knox.  The  doctrines  of  Luther  were 
spread  over  the  northern  parts  of  Germany,  and  free 
dom  of  worship  was  finally  guaranteed  there,  by  the 
treaty  of  Passau.  The  Low  Countries  were  the  "de 
batable  land,"  on  which  the  various  sects  of  Reformers, 
the  Lutheran,  the  Calvinist,  the  English  Protestant, 
contended  for  mastery  with  the  established  Church. 
Calvinism  was  embraced  by  some  of  the  cantons  of 

(43O 


432      DISCONTENT  IN  THE   NETHERLANDS. 

Switzerland,  and  at  Geneva  its  great  apostle  had  fixed 
his  head-quarters.  His  doctrines  were  widely  circu 
lated  through  France,  till  the  divided  nation  was  pre 
paring  to  plunge  into  that  worst  of  all  wars,  in  which 
the  hand  of  brother  is  raised  against  brother.  The  cry 
of  reform  had  even  passed  the  Alps,  and  was  heard 
under  the  walls  of  the  Vatican.  It  had  crossed  the 
Pyrenees.  The  king  of  Navarre  declared  himself  a 
Protestant;  and  the  spirit  of  the  Reformation  had 
secretly  insinuated  itself  into  Spain,  and  taken  hold, 
as  we  have  seen,  of  the  middle  and  southern  provinces 
of  the  kingdom. 

A  contemporary  of  the  period,  who  reflected  on  the 
onward  march  of  the  new  religion  over  every  obstacle 
in  its  path,  who  had  seen  it  gather  under  its  banners 
states  and  nations  once  the  most  loyal  and  potent  vas 
sals  of  Rome,  would  have  had  little  reason  to  .doubt 
that  before  the  end  of  the  century  the  Reform  would 
have  extended  its  sway  over  the  whole  of  Christendom. 
Fortunately  for  Catholicism,  the  most  powerful  empire 
in  Europe  was  in  the  hands  of  a  prince  who  was  de 
voted  with  his  whole  soul  to  the  interests  of  the  Church. 
Philip  the  Second  understood  the  importance  of  his 
position.  His  whole  life  proves  that  he  felt  it  to  be 
his  especial  mission  to  employ  his  great  resources  to 
restore  the  tottering  fortunes  of  Catholicism  and  stay 
the  progress  of  the  torrent  which  was  sweeping  away 
every  landmark  of  the  primitive  faith. 

We  have  seen  the  manner  in  which  he  crushed  the 
efforts  of  the  Protestants  in  Spain.  This  was  the  first 
severe  blow  struck  at  the  Reformation.  Its  conse 
quences  cannot  well  be  exaggerated;  not  the  immediate 


THE    REFORMATION.  433 

results,  which  would  have  been  little  without  the  sub 
sequent  reforms  and  increased  activity  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  itself.  But  the  moral  influence  of  such  a 
blow,  when  the  minds  of  men  had  been  depressed 
by  a  long  series  of  reverses,  is  not  to  be  estimated. 
In  view  of  this,  one  of  the  most  eminent  Roman 
Catholic  writers  does  not  hesitate  to  remark  that  "the 
power  and  abilities  of  Philip  the  Second  afforded  a 
counterpoise  to  the  Protestant  cause,  which  prevented 
it  from  making  itself  master  of  Europe."1  The  blow 
was  struck ;  and  from  this  period  little  beyond  its 
present  conquests  was  to  be  gained  for  the  cause  of 
the  Reformation. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Philip,  after  having 
exterminated  heresy  in  one  part  of  his  dominions, 
should  tolerate  its  existence  in  any  other, — least  of  all 
in  a  country  so  important  as  the  Netherlands.  Yet  a 
little  reflection  might  have  satisfied  him  that  the  same 
system  of  measures  could  hardly  be  applied  with  a 
prospect  of  success  to  two  countries  so  differently  situ 
ated  as  Spain  and  the  Netherlands.  The  Romish  faith 
may  be  said  to  have  entered  into  the  being  of  the 
Spaniard.  It  was  not  merely  cherished  as  a  form  of 
religion,  but  as  a  principle  of  honor.  It  was  part  of 
the  national  history.  For  eight  centuries  the  Spaniard 
had  been  fighting  at  home  the  battles  of  the  Church. 
Nearly  every  inch  of  soil  in  his  own  country  was  won 
by  arms  from  the  infidel.  His  wars,  as  I  have  more 
than  once  had  occasion  to  remark,  were  all  wars  of 
religion.  He  carried  the  same  spirit  across  the  waters. 
There  he  was  still  fighting  the  infidel.  His  life  was 

1  Balmes,  Protestantism  and  Catholicity  Compared,  p.  215. 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — T  37 


434     DISCONTENT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

one  long  crusade.  How  could  this  champion  of  the 
Church  desert  her  in  her  utmost  need  ? 

With  this  predisposition,  it  was  easy  for  Philip  to 
enforce  obedience  in  a  people  naturally  the  most  loyal 
to  their  princes,  to  whom,  moreover,  since  the  fatal 
war  of  the  Comunidades,  they  had  been  accustomed  to 
pay  an  almost  Oriental  submission.  Intrenched  behind 
the  wall  of  the  Pyrenees,  Spain,  we  must  bear  in  mind, 
felt  little  of  the  great  shock  which  was  convulsing 
France  and  the  other  states  of  Europe ;  and  with  the 
aid  of  so  formidable  an  engine  as  the  Inquisition  it 
was  easy  to  exterminate,  before  they  could  take  root, 
such  seeds  of  heresy  as  had  been  borne  by  the  storm 
across  the  mountains. 

The  Netherlands,  on  the  other  hand,  lay  like  a  valley 
among  the  hills,  which  drinks  in  all  the  waters  of  the 
surrounding  country.  They  were  a  common  reservoir 
for  the  various  opinions  which  agitated  the  nations  on 
their  borders.  On  the  south  were  the  Lutherans  of 
Germany;  the  French  Huguenots  pressed  them  on  the 
west ;  and  by  the  ocean  they  held  communication  with 
England  and  the  nations  of  the  Baltic.  The  soldier 
quartered  on  their  territory,  the  seaman  who  visited 
their  shores,  the  trader  who  trafficked  in  their  towns, 
brought  with  them  different  forms  of  the  new  religion. 
Books  from  France  and  from  Germany  circulated 
widely  among  a  people  nearly  all  of  whom,  as  we  have 
seen,  were  able  to  read. 

The  new  doctrines  were  discussed  by  men  accus 
tomed  to  think  and  act  for  themselves.  Freedom 
of  speculation  on  religious  topics  -soon  extended  to 
political.  It  was  the  natural  tendency  of  reform. 


REFORMATION  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS.      435 

The  same  spirit  of  free  inquiry  which  attacked  the 
foundations  of  unity  of  faith  stood  ready  next  to 
assail  those  of  unity  of  government ;  and  men  began 
boldly  to  criticise  the  rights  of  kings  and  the  duties 
of  subjects. 

The  spirit  of  independence  was  fostered  by  the 
institutions  of  the  country.  The  provinces  of  the 
Netherlands,  if  not  republican  in  form,  were  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  republics.  In  many  of  their  fea~ 
hires  they  call  to  mind  the  free  states  of  Italy  in 
the  Middle  Ages.  Under  the  petty  princes  who 
ruled  over  them  in  early  days,  they  had  obtained 
charters,  as  we  have  seen,  which  secured  a  certain 
degree  of  constitutional  freedom.  The  province  of 
Brabant,  above  all,  gloried  in  its  " Joyeuse  Entree" 
which  guaranteed  privileges  and  immunities  of  a 
more  liberal  character  than  those  possessed  by  the 
other  states  of  the  Netherlands.  When  the  provinces 
passed  at  length  under  the  sceptre  of  a  single  sove 
reign,  he  lived  at  a  distance,*  and  the  government 
was  committed  to  a  viceroy.  Since  their  connection 
with  Spain,  the  administration  had  been  for  the  most 
part  in  the  hands  of  a  woman;  and  the  delegated 
authority  of  a  woman  pressed  but  lightly  on  the  inde 
pendent  temper  of  the  Flemings. 

Yet  Charles  the  Fifth,  as  we  have  seen,  partial  as 
he  was  to  his  countrymen  in  the  Netherlands,  could 
ill  brook  their  audacious  spirit,  and  made  vigorous 

*  [It  would  be  vain  to  conjecture  what  sovereign  is  here  alluded 
to.  Charles  V.  was  the  first  absentee,  if  even  he  could  be  so  called ; 
and  when  he  inherited  the  provinces  they  had  been  united  under  a 
common  sceptre  for  nearly  a  century. — ED.] 


436     DISCONTENT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

efforts  to  repress  it.  But  bis  zeal  for  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  his  people  never  led  him  to  overlook 
their  material  interests.  He  had  no  design  by  his 
punishments  to  cripple  their  strength,  much  less  to 
urge  them  to  extremity.  When  the  regent,  Mary  of 
Hungary,  his  sister,  warned  him  that  his  laws  bore  too 
heavily  on  the  people  to  be  endured,  he  was  careful  to 
mitigate  their  severity.  His  edicts  in  the  name  of 
religion  were,  indeed,  written  in  blood.  But  the  fre 
quency  of  their  repetition  shows,  as  already  remarked, 
the  imperfect  manner  in  which  they  were  executed. 
This  was  still  further  proved  by  the  prosperous  con 
dition  of  the  people,  the  flourishing  aspect  of  the 
various  branches  of  industry,  and  the  great  enterprises 
to  facilitate  commercial  intercourse  and  foster  the 
activity  of  the  country.  At  the  close  of  Charles's 
reign,  or  rather  at  the  commencement  of  his  suc 
cessor's,  in  1560,  was  completed  the  grand  canal  ex 
tending  from  Antwerp  to  Brussels,  the  construction 
of  which  had  consumed  thirty  years  and  one  million 
eight  hundred  thousand  florins.2  Such  a  work,  at  such 
a  period, — the  fruit  not  of  royal  patronage,  but  of 
the  public  spirit  of  the  citizens, — is  evidence  both 
of  large  resources  and  of  wisdom  in  the  direction  of 
them.  In  this  state  of  things,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  Flemings,  feeling  their  own  strength,  should  have 
assumed  a  free  and  independent  tone  little  grateful 

2  "  II  y  avoit  bien  30.  ans  que  ceux  de  Brusselles  avoyent  com 
mence,  et  avoyent  perc6  des  collines,  des  champs  et  chemins,  desqxiels 
ils  avoient  achapte  les  fonds  des  proprietaires,  on  y  avoit  faict  40. 
grandes  escluses  .  .  .  et  cousta  dix  huits  cent  mille  florins."  Meteren, 
Hist,  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  i.  fol.  26. 


REFORMATION  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS.      437 

to  the  ear  of  a  sovereign.  So  far  had  this  spirit  of 
liberty — or  license,  as  it  was  termed — increased,  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  emperor's  reign,  that  the  Regent 
Mary,  when  her  brother  abdicated,  chose  also  to  re 
sign,  declaring,  in  a  letter  to  him,  that  "she  would 
not  continue  to  live  with,  much  less  to  reign  over,  a 
people  whose  manners  had  undergone  such  a  change, 
— in  whom  respect  for  God  and  man  seemed  no  longer 
to  exist."3 

A  philosopher  who  should  have  contemplated  at 
that  day  the  condition  of  the  country,  and  the  civil 
ization  at  which  it  had  arrived,  might  feel  satisfied 
that  a  system  of  toleration  in  religious  matters  would 
be  the  one  best  suited  to  the  genius  of  the  people 
and  the  character  of  their  institutions.  But  Philip 
was  no  philosopher ;  and  toleration  was  a  virtue  not 
understood,  at  that  time,  by  Calvinist  any  more  than 
by  Catholic.  The  question,  therefore,  is  not  whether 
the  end  he  proposed  was  the  best  one, — on  this,  few 
at  the  present  day  will  differ, — but  whether  Philip 
took  the  best  means  for  effecting  that  end.  This  is 
the  point  of  view  from  which  his  conduct  in  the 
Netherlands  should  be  criticised. 

Here,  in  the  outset,  he  seems  to  have  fallen  into  a 
capital  error,  by  committing  so  large  a  share  in  the 
government  to  the  hands  of  a  foreigner, — Granvelle. 
The  country  was  filled  with  nobles,  some  of  them 

3  "  Je  vois  une  grande  jeunesse  en  ces  pays,  avec  les  mceurs  des- 
quelz  ne  me  S9aurois  ny  ne  voudrois  accommoder;  la  fidelite  du 
monde  et  respect  envers  Dieu  et  son  prince  si  corrompuz,  .  .  -.  que 
ne  desirerois  pas  seullement  de  les  pas  gouverner,  .  .  .  mais  aussy 
me  fasche  de  le  veoir,  congnoistre  et  de  vivre  .  .  .  entre  telles  gens." 
Papiers  d'fitat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  iv.  p.  476. 
37* 


438     DISCONTENT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

men  of  the  highest  birth,  whose  ancestors  were  asso 
ciated  with  the  most  stirring  national  recollections, 
and  who  were  endeared,  moreover,  to  their  country 
men  by  their  own  services.  To  several  of  these  Philip 
himself  was  under  no  slight  obligations  for  the  aid 
they  had  afforded  him  in  the  late  war, — on  the  fields 
of  Gravelines  and  St.  Quentin,  and  in  the  negotia 
tion  of  the  treaty  which  closed  his  hostilities  with 
France.  It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  these 
proud  nobles,  conscious  of  their  superior  claims,  and 
accustomed  to  so  much  authority  and  deference  in 
their  own  land,  would  tamely  submit  to  the  control 
of  a  stranger,  a  man  of  obscure  family,  like  his 
father  indebted  for  his  elevation  to  the  royal  favor. 

Besides  these  great  lords,  there  was  a  numerous 
aristocracy,  inferior  nobles  and  cavaliers,  many  of 
whom  had  served  under  the  standard  of  Charles  in 
his  long  wars.  They  there  formed  those  formidable 
companies  of  ordonnancet  whose  fame  perhaps  stood 
higher  than  that  of  any  other  corps  of  the  imperial 
cavalry.  The  situation  of  these  men,  now  disbanded, 
and,  with  their  roving  military  habits,  hanging  loosely 
on  the  country,  has  been  compared  by  a  modern 
author  to  that  which  on  the  accession  of  the  Bour 
bons  was  occupied  by  the  soldiers  whom  Napoleon 
had  so  often  led  to  victory.4  To  add  to  their  rest 
lessness,  many  of  these,  as  well  as  of  the  higher  no 
bility,  were  embarrassed  by  debts  contracted  in  their 
campaigns,  or  by  too  ambitious  expenditure  at  home, 
especially  in  rivalry  with  the  ostentatious  Spaniard. 

4  Gerlache,  Histoire  du  Royaume  des  Pays-Bas  (Bruxelles,  1842), 
torn.  i.  p.  71. 


DISCONTENT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS.      439 

"The  Flemish  nobles,"  says  a  writer  of  the  time, 
"were  too  many  of  them  oppressed  by  heavy  debts 
and  the  payment  of  exorbitant  interest.  They  spent 
twice  as  much  as  they  were  worth  on  their  palaces, 
furniture,  troops  of  retainers,  •  costly  liveries,  their 
banquets  and  sumptuous  entertainments  of  every  de 
scription, —  in  fine,  in  every  form  of  luxury  and 
superfluity  that  could  be  devised.  Thus  discontent 
became  prevalent  through  the  country,  and  men 
anxiously  looked  forward  to  some  change. ' ' 5 

Still  another  element  of  discontent,  and  one  that 
extended  to  all  classes,  was  antipathy  to  the  Span 
iards.  It  had  not  been  easy  to  repress  this  even 
under  the  rule  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  who  had  shown 
such  manifest  preference  for  his  Flemish  subjects. 
But  now  it  was  more  decidedly  called  out,  under  a 
monarch  whose  sympathies  lay  altogether  on  the  side 
of  their  rivals.  No  doubt  this  popular  sentiment  is 
to  be  explained  partly  by  the  contrast  afforded  by 
the  characters  of  the  two  nations,  so  great  as  hardly 
to  afford  a  point  of  contact  between  them.  But  it 
may  be  fairly  charged  to  a  great  extent  on  the  Span 
iards  themselves,  who,  while  they  displayed  many 

s  "  Es  menester  ver  como  la  nobleza  se  ha  desde  mucho  tiempo 
desmandada  y  empenada  por  usura  y  gastos  superfluos,  gastando 
casi  mas  que  doble  de  lo  que  tenian  en  edificios,  muebles,  festines, 
danzas,  mascaradas,  fuegos  de  dados,  naipes,  vestidos,  libreas,  segui- 
miento  de  criados  y  generalmente  en  todas  suertes  de  deleytes,  luxu- 
ria,  y  superfluidad,  lo  que  se  avia  comenzado  antes  de  la  yda  de  su 
magestad  a  Espafia.  Y  desde  entonces  uvo  un  descontento  casi 
general  en  el  pais  y  esperanza  de  esta  gente  asi  alborotada  de  veer 
en  poco  tiempo  una  mudanza,"  Renom  de  Francii,  Alborotos  de 
Flandes,  MS. 


440 


DISCONTENT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 


noble  and  magnanimous  traits  at  home,  seemed  de 
sirous  to  exhibit  only  the  repulsive  side  of  their 
character  to  the  eye  of  the  stranger.  Cold  and  im 
penetrable,  assuming  an  arrogant  tone  of  superiority 
over  every  other  nation,  in  whatever  land  it  was 
their  destiny  to  be  cast,  England,  Italy,  or  the  Neth 
erlands,  as  allies  or  as  enemies,  we  find  the  Spaniards 
of  that  day  equally  detested.  Brought  with  them,  as 
the  people  of  the  Netherlands  were,  under  a  common 
sceptre,  a  spirit  of  comparison  and  rivalry  grew  up, 
which  induced  a  thousand  causes  of  irritation. 

The  difficulty  was  still  further  increased  by  the 
condition  of  the  neighboring  countries,  where  the 
minds  of  the  inhabitants  were  now  in  the  highest 
state  of  fermentation  in  matters  of  religion.  In 
short,  the  atmosphere  seemed  everywhere  to  be  in 
that  highly  electrified  condition  which  bodes  the 
coming  tempest.  In  this  critical  state  of  things,  it 
was  clear  that  it  was  only  by  a  most  careful  and 
considerate  policy  that  harmony  could  be  maintained 
in  the  Netherlands, — a  policy  manifesting  alike  ten 
derness  for  the  feelings  of  the  nation  and  respect  for 
its  institutions. 

Having  thus  shown  the  general  aspect  of  things 
when  the  duchess  of  Parma  entered  on  her  regency, 
towards  the  close  of  1559,  it  is  time  to  go  forward 
with  the  narrative  of  the  prominent  events  which  led 
to  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Philip,  on  leaving  the 
country,  lodged  the  administration  nominally  in  three 
councils,  although  in  truth  it  was  on  the  council  of 
state  that  the  weight  of  government  actually  rested. 


WILLIAM  OF   ORANGE.  441 

Even  here  the  nobles  who  composed  it  were  of  little 
account  in  matters  of  real  importance,  which  were 
reserved  for  a  consulta,  consisting,  besides  the  regent, 
of  Granvelle,  Count  Barlaimont,  and  the  learned  jurist 
Viglius.  As  the  last  two  were  altogether  devoted  to 
Granvelle,  and  the  regent  was  instructed  to .  defer 
greatly  to  his  judgment,  the  government  of  the  Neth 
erlands  may  be  said  to  have  been  virtually  deposited 
in  the  hands  of  the  bishop  of  Arras. 

At  the  head  of  the  Flemish  nobles  in  the  council 
of  state,  and  indeed  in  the  country,  taking  into  view 
their  rank,  fortune,  and  public  services,  stood  Count 
Egmont  and  the  prince  of  Orange.  I  have  already 
given  some  account  of  the  former,  and  the  reader 
has  seen  the  important  part  which  he  took  in  the 
great  victories  of  Gravelines  and  St.  Quentin.  To 
the  prince  of  Orange  Philip  had  also  been  indebted 
for  his  counsel  in  conducting  the  war,  and  still  more 
for  the  aid  which  he  had  afforded  in  the  negotiations 
for  peace.  It  will  be  proper,  before  going  further, 
to  give  the  reader  some  particulars  of  this  celebrated 
man,  the  great  leader  in  the  war  of  the  Netherlands. 

William,  prince  of  Orange,  was  born  at  Dillenburg, 
in  the  German  duchy  of  Nassau,  on  the  twenty-fifth 
of  April,  1533.  He  was  descended  from  a  house  one 
of  whose  branches  had  given  an  emperor  to  Germany ; 
and  William's  own  ancestors  were  distinguished  by  the 
employments  they  had  held,  and  the  services  they  had 
rendered,  both  in  Germany  and  the  Low  Countries. 
It  was  a  proud  vaunt  of  his,  that  Philip  was  under 
larger  obligations  to  him  than  he  to  Philip,  and  that 
but  for  the  house  of  Nassau  the  king  of  Spain  would 
T* 


442 


DISCONTENT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 


not  be  able  to  write  as  many  titles  as  he  now  did  after 
his  name.6 

When  eleven  years  old,  by  the  death  of  his  cousin 
Rene  he  came  into  possession  of  a  large  domain  in 
Holland,  and  a  still  larger  property  in  Brabant,  where 
he  held  the  title  of  Lord  of  Breda.  To  these  was 
added  the  splendid  inheritance  of  Chalons,  and  of  the 
principality  of  Orange ;  which,  however,  situated  at  a 
distance,  in  the  heart  of  France,  might  seem  to  be  held 
by  a  somewhat  precarious  tenure. 

William's  parents  were  both  Lutherans,  and  in  their 
faith  he  was  educated.  But  Charles  saw  with  dis 
pleasure  the  false  direction  thus  given  to  one  who  at  a 
future  day  was  to  occupy  so  distinguished  a  position 
among  his  Flemish  vassals.  With  the  consent  of  his 
parents,  the  child,  in  his  twelfth  year,  was  removed  to 
Brussels,  to  be  brought  up  in  the  family  of  the  em 
peror's  sister,  the  Regent  Mary  of  Hungary.  How 
ever  their  consent  to  this  step  may  be  explained,  it 
certainly  seems  that  their  zeal  for  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  their  son  was  not  such  as  to  stand  in  the  way  of  his 
temporal.  In  the  family  of  the  regent  the  youth  was 
bred  a  Catholic,  while  in  all  respects  he  received  an 
education  suited  to  his  rank.7  It  is  an  interesting  fact 

6  Apologie  de  Guillaume  IX.  Prince  d'Orange  centre  la  Proscription 
de  Philippe  II.  Roi  d'Espagne,  presentee  aux   Etats  Generaux  des 
Pays-Bas,  le  13  Decembre,  1580,  ap.  Dumont,  Corps  diplomatique, 
torn.  v.  p.  384. 

7  M.  Groen  Van   Prinsterer  has  taken  some  pains  to  explain  the 
conduct  of  William's  parents,  on  the  ground,  chiefly,  that  they  had 
reason   to  think  their  son,  after  all,   might  be  allowed  to  worship 
according  to  the  way  in  which  he  had  been  educated  (p.  195).     But, 
whatever  concessions  to  the  Protestants  may  have  been  wrung  from 


WILLIAM  OF   ORANGE. 


443 


that  his  preceptor  was  a  younger  brother  of  Granvelle, 
— the  man  with  whom  William  was  afterwards  to  be 
placed  in  an  attitude  of  such  bitter  hostility. 

When  fifteen  years  of  age,  the  prince  was  taken  into 
the  imperial  household,  and  became  the  page  of  Charles 
the  Fifth.  The  emperor  was  not  slow  in  discerning  the 
extraordinary  qualities  of  the  youth;  and  he  showed  it 
by  intrusting  him,  as  he  grew  older,  with  various  im 
portant  commissions.  He  was  accompanied  by  the 
prince  on  his  military  expeditions;  and  Charles  gave  a 
remarkable  proof  of  his  confidence  in  his  capacity,  by 
raising  him,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  over  the  heads 
of  veteran  officers  and  giving  him  the  command  of  the 
imperial  forces  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Marienburg. 
During  the  six  months  that  William  was  in  command 
they  were  still  occupied  with  this  siege,  and  with  the 
construction  of  a  fortress  for  the  .protection  of  Flan 
ders.  There  was  little  room  for  military  display.  But 
the  troops  were  in  want  of  food  and  of  money,  and 
their  young  commander's  conduct  under  these  embar 
rassments  was  such  as  to  vindicate  the  wisdom  of  his 
appointment.  Charles  afterwards  employed  him  on 
several  diplomatic  missions, — a  more  congenial  field 
for  the  exercise  of  his  talents,  which  appear  to  have 
been  better  suited  to  civil  than  to  military  affairs. 

The  emperor's  regard  for  the  prince  seems  to  have 
increased  with  his  years,  and  he  gave  public  proof  of 
it,  in  the  last  hour  of  his  reign,  by  leaning  on  Wil- 

Charles  by  considerations  of  public  policy,  we  suspect  few  who  have 
studied  his  character  will  believe  that  he  would  ever  have  consented 
to  allow  one  of  his  own  household,  one  to  whom  he  stood  in  the  rela 
tion  of  a  guardian,  to  be  nurtured  in  the  faith  of  heretics. 


444 


DISCONTENT  IN   THE  NETHERLANDS. 


liam's  shoulder,  at  the  time  of  his  abdication,  when 
he  made  his  parting  address  to  the  states  of  the  Nether 
lands.  He  showed  this  still  further  by  selecting  him 
for  the  honorable  mission  of  bearing  the  imperial  crown 
to  Ferdinand. 

On  his  abdication,  Charles  earnestly  commended 
William  to  his  successor.  Philip  profited  by  his  ser 
vices  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  when  the  prince 
of  Orange,  who  had  followed  him  in  the  French  war, 
was  made  one  of  the  four  plenipotentiaries  for  negoti 
ating  the  treaty  of  Cateau-Cambresis,  for  the  execution 
of  which  he  remained  as  one  of  the  hostages  in  France. 

While  at  the  court  of  Henry  the  Second,  it  will  be 
remembered,  the  prince  became  acquainted  with  the 
secret  designs  of  the  French  and  Spanish  monarchs 
against  the  Protestants  in  their  dominions;  and  he 
resolved  from  that. hour  to  devote  all  his  strength  to 
expel  the  "Spanish  vermin"  from  the  Netherlands. 
One  must  not  infer  from  this,  however,  that  William 
at  this  early  period  meditated  the  design  of  shaking 
off  the  rule  of  Spain  altogether.  The  object  he  had  in 
view  went  no  further  than  to  relieve  the  country  from 
the  odious  presence  of  the  Spanish  troops  and  to  place 
the  administration  in  those  hands  to  which  it  rightfully 
belonged.  They,  however,  who  set  a  revolution  in 
motion  have  not  always  the  power  to  stop  it.  If  they 
can  succeed  in  giving  it  a  direction,  they  will  probably 
be  carried  forward  by  it  beyond  their  intended  limits, 
until,  gathering  confidence  with  success,  they  aim  at 
an  end  far  higher  than  that  which  they  had  originally 
proposed.  Such,  doubtless,  was  the  case  with  William 
of  Orange. 


WILLIAM  OF  ORANGE. 


445 


Notwithstanding  the  emperor's  recommendation,  the 
prince  of  Orange  was  not  the  man  whom  Philip  se 
lected  for  his  confidence.  Nor  was  it  possible  for 
William  to  regard  the  king  with  the  same  feelings 
which  he  had  entertained  for  the  emperor.  To  Charles 
the  prince  was  under  obvious  obligations  for  his  nur 
ture  in  early  life.  His  national  pride,  too,  was  not 
wounded  by  having  a  Spaniard  for  a  sovereign,  since 
Charles  was  not  by  birth,  much  less  in  heart,  a  Span 
iard.  All  this  was  reversed  in  Philip,  in  whom  Wil 
liam  saw  only  the  representative  of  a  detested  race. 
The  prudent  reserve  which  marked  the  character  of 
each,  no  doubt,  prevented  the  outward  demonstration 
of  their  sentiments;  but  from  their  actions  we  may 
readily  infer  the  instinctive  aversion  which  the  two 
parties  entertained  for  each  other. 

At  the  early  age  of  eighteen,  William  married  Anne 
of  Egmont,  daughter  of  the  count  of  Biiren.  The 
connection  was  a  happy  one,  if  we  may  trust  the 
loving  tone  of  their  correspondence.  Unhappily,  in 
a  few  years  their  union  was  dissolved  by  the  lady's 
death.  The  prince  did  not  long  remain  a  widower 
before  he  made  proposals  to  the  daughter  of  the 
duchess  of  Lorraine.  The  prospect  of  such  a  match 
gave  great  dissatisfaction  to  Philip,  who  had  no  mind 
to  see  his  Flemish  vassal  allied  with  the  family  of  a 
great  feudatory  of  France.*  Disappointed  in  this  quar 
ter,  William  next  paid  his  addresses  to  Anne  of  Saxony, 

*  [As  Lorraine  was  a  fief,  not  of  France,  but  of  the  Empire,  this 
cannot  have  been  the  ground  of  Philip's  opposition  to  the  match,  the 
fact  of  which,  indeed,  though  probable  enough  in  itself,  rests  on  no 
certain  evidence. — ED.] 

Philip.— VOL.  I.  38 


446     DISCONTENT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

an  heiress  whose  large  possessions  made  her  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  matches  in  Germany.  William's  pas 
sion  and  his  interest,  it  was  remarked,  kept  time  well 
together. 

The  course  of  love,  however,  was  not  destined  to 
run  smoothly  on  the  present  occasion.  Anne  was  the 
daughter  of  Maurice,  the  great  Lutheran  champion, 
the  implacable  enemy  of  Charles  the  Fifth.  Left  early 
an  orphan,  she  had  been  reared  in  the  family  of  her 
uncle,  the  elector  of  Saxony,  in  the  strictest  tenets  of 
the  Lutheran  faith.  Such  a  connection  was,  of  course, 
every  way  distasteful  to  Philip,  to  whom  William  was 
willing  so  far  to  defer  as  to  solicit  his  approbation, 
though  he  did  not  mean  to  be  controlled  by  it.8  The 
correspondence  on  the  subject,  in  which  both  the 
regent  and  Granvelle  took  an  active  part,  occupies 
as  much  space  in  collections  of  the  period  as  more 
important  negotiations.  The  prince  endeavored  to 
silence  the  king's  scruples  by  declaring  that  he  was 
too  much  a  Catholic  at  heart  to  marry  any  woman  who 
was  not  of  the  same  persuasion  as  himself,  and  that  he 
had  received  assurances  from  the  elector  that  his  wife 
in  this  respect  should  entirely  conform  to  his  wishes. 
The  elector  had  scruples  as  to  the  match,  no  less  than 
Philip,  though  on  precisely  the  opposite  grounds;  and, 
after  the  prince's  assurance  to  the  king,  one  is  sur 
prised  to  find  that  an  understanding  must  have  existed 
with  the  elector  that  Anne  should  be  allowed  the 
undisturbed  enjoyment  of  her  own  religion.9  This 

8  See  particularly  Margaret's  letter  to  the  king,  of  March  13111, 
1560,  Correspondance  de  Marguerite  d'Autriche,  p.  260,  et  seq. 

9  M.  Groen  Van  Prinsterer  has  industriously  collated  the  correspond- 


WILLIAM  OF  ORANGE.  447 

double-dealing  leaves  a  disagreeable  impression  in  re 
gard  to  William's  character.  Yet  it  does  not  seem,  to 
judge  from  his  later  life,  to  be  altogether  inconsistent 
with  it.  Machiavelli  is  the  author  whom  he  is  said  to 
have  had  most  frequently  in  his  hand;10  and  in  the 
policy  with  which  he  shaped  his  course  we  may  some 
times  fancy  that  we  can  discern  the  influence  of  the 
Italian  statesman. 

The  marriage  was  celebrated  with  great  pomp  at 
Leipsic,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  August,  1561.  The 
king  of  Denmark,  several  of  the  electors,  and  many 
princes  and  nobles  of  both  Germany  and  the  Low 
Countries,  were  invited  guests;  and  the  whole  assembly 
present  on  the  occasion  was  estimated  at  nearly  six 
thousand  persons."  The  king  of  Spain  complimented 
the  bride  by  sending  her  a  jewel  worth  three  thousand 
ducats.12  It  proved,  however,  as  Granvelle  had  pre 
dicted,  an  ill-assorted  union.  After  living  together  for 
nearly  thirteen  years,  the  prince,  weary  of  the  irregu 
larities  of  his  wife,  separated  from  her,  and  sent  her 
back  to  her  friends  in  Germany. 

During  his  residence  in  Brussels,  William  easily  fell 
into  the  way  of  life  followed  by  the  Flemish  nobles. 
He  was  very  fond  of  the  healthy  exercise  of  the  chase, 
and  especially  of  hawking.  He  was  social,  indeed 
convivial,  in  his  habits,  after  the  fashion  of  his  coun- 

ence  of  the  several  parties,  which  must  be  allowed  to  form  an  edifying 
chapter  in  the  annals  of  matrimonial  diplomacy.  See  Archives  de  la 
Maison  d' Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  202. 

10  Memoires  de  Granvelle,  torn.  i.  p.  251. 

11  Raumer,  Hist.  Tasch.,  p.  109,  ap.  Archives  de  la  Maison  d' Orange- 
Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  115. 

12  Correspon dance  de  Marguerite  d'Autriche,  p.  284. 


448     DISCONTENT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

trymen,13  and  was  addicted  to  gallantries,  which  con 
tinued  long  enough,  it  is  said,  to  suggest  an  apology 
for  the  disorderly  conduct  of  his  wife.  He  occupied 
the  ancient  palace  of  his  family  at  Brussels,  where  he 
was  surrounded  by  lords  and  cavaliers  and  a  numerous 
retinue  of  menials.14  He  lived  in  great  state,  display 
ing  a  profuse  magnificence  in  his  entertainments;  and 
few  there  were,  natives  or  foreigners,  who  had  any 
claim  on  his  hospitality,  that  did  not  receive  it.15  By 
this  expensive  way  of  life  he  encumbered  his  estate 
with  a  heavy  debt,  amounting,  if  we  may  take  Gran- 
velle's  word,  to  nine  hundred  thousand  florins.16  Yet, 
if  William's  own  account,  but  one  year  later,  be  true, 
the  debt  was  then  brought  within  a  very  moderate 
compass.17 

*3  It  may  give  some  idea  of  the  scale  of  William's  domestic  estab 
lishment  to  state  that,  on  reducing  it  to  a  more  economical  standard, 
twenty-eight  head-cooks  were  dismissed.  (Van  der  Haer,  De  Initiis 
Tumult.,  p.  182,  ap.  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn, 
i.  p.  200*.)  The  same  contemporary  tells  us  that  there  were  few 
princes  in  Germany  who  had  not  one  cook,  at  least,  that  had  served 
an  apprenticeship  in  William's  kitchen, — the  best  school  in  that  day 
for  the  noble  science  of  gastronomy. 

J4  "  Audivi  rem  domesticam  sic  splendide  habuisse  ut  at  ordinarium 
domus  ministerium  haberet  24  Nobiles,  pueros  vero  Nobiles  (Pagios 
nominamus)  18."  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

XS  "  Rei  domesticae  splendor,  famulorumque  et  asseclarum  multitudo 
magnis  Principibus  par.  Nee  ulla  toto  Belgio  sedes  hospitalior,  ad 
quarr  frequentius  peregrini  Proceres  Legatique  diverterent,  excipe- 
renturque  magnificentius,  quam  Orangii  domus."  Strada,  De  Bello 
Belgico,  p.  99. 

16  "  Le  prince  d'Orange,  qui  tient  un  grand  etat  de  maison,  et  mene 
a  sa  suite  des  comtes,  des  barons  et  beaucoup  d'autres  gentilshommes 
d'Allemagne,  doit,  pour  le  moins,  900,000  fl."  Correspondance  de 
Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  239. 

*7  In  January,  1564,  we  find  him  writing  to  his  brother,  "  Puis  qu'il 


WILLIAM  OF'  ORANGE.  449 

With  his  genial  habits  and  love  of  pleasure,  and 
with  manners  the  most  attractive,  he  had  not  the  free 
and  open  temper  which  often  goes  along  with  them. 
He  was  called  by  his  contemporaries  "William  the 
Silent."  Perhaps  the  epithet  was  intended  to  indicate 
not  so  much  his  taciturnity,  as  that  impenetrable  re 
serve  which  locked  up  his  secrets  closely  within  his 
bosom.  No  man  knew  better  how  to  keep  his  counsel, 
even  from  those  who  acted  with  him.  But,  while 
masking  his  own  designs,  no  man  was  more  sagacious 
in  penetrating  those  of  others.  He  carried  on  an 
extensive  correspondence  in  foreign  countries,  and 
employed  every  means  for  getting  information.  Thus, 
while  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  outwit  others,  it  was 
very  rare  that  he  became  their  dupe.  Though  on 
ordinary  occasions  frugal  of  words,  when  he  did  speak 
it  was  with  effect.  His  eloquence  was  of  the  most 
persuasive  kind;18  and  as  towards  his  inferiors  he  was 
affable,  and  exceedingly  considerate  of  their  feelings, 
he  acquired  an  unbounded  ascendency  over  his  coun 
trymen.19  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  prince  of 

ne  reste  que  a  XV.  cens  florins  par  an,  que  serons  bien  tost  delivre 
des  debtes."    Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  196. 

18  "  II  estoit  d'une  eloquence  admirable,  avec  laquelle  il  mettoit  en 
evidence  les  conceptions  sublimes  de  son  esprit,  et  faisoit  plier  les 
aultres  seigneurs  de  la  court,  ainsy  que  bon  luy  sembloit."  Gachard 
(Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn,  ii.,  Preface,  p.  3), 
who  quotes  a  manuscript  of  the  sixteenth  century,  preserved  in  the 
library  of  Arras,  entitled  "  Commencement  de  1'Histoire  des  Troubles 
des  Pays-Bas,  advenuz  soubz  le  Gouvernement  de  Madame  la  Du- 
chesse  de  Parme." 

*9  "  Sy  estoit  singulierement  aime  et  bien  vollu  de  la  commune, 
pour  une  gracieuse  fa9on  de  faire  qu'il  avoit  de  saluer.  caresser  et 
arraisonner  privement  et  familierement  tout  le  monde."  Ibid.,  ubi 
supra. 

38* 


450     DISCONTENT  IN  THE   NETHERLANDS. 

Orange  possessed   many  rare  qualities  for  the  leader 
of  a  great  revolution. 

The  course  William  took  in  respect  to  his  wife's 
religion  might  lead  one  to  doubt  whether  he  were  at 
heart  Catholic  or  Protestant,  or  indeed  whether  he 
were  not  equally  indifferent  to  both  persuasions.  The 
latter  opinion  might  be  strengthened  by  a  remark  im 
puted  to  him,  that  "he  would  not  have  his  wife  trouble 
herself  with  such  melancholy  books  as  the  Scriptures, 
but  instead  of  them  amuse  herself  with  Amadis  de 
Gaul,  and  other  pleasant  writers  of  the  kind."20 
"The  prince  of  Orange,"  says  a  writer  of  the  time, 
"passed  for  a  Catholic  among  Catholics,  a  Lutheran 
among  Lutherans.  If  he  could,  he  would  have  had  a 
religion  compounded  of  both.  In  truth,  he  looked  on 
the  Christian  religion  like  the  ceremonies  which  Numa 
introduced,  as  a  sort  of  politic  invention."21  Gran- 
velle,  in  a  letter  to  Philip,  speaks  much  to  the  same 
purpose.22  These  portraits  were  by  unfriendly  hands. 
Those  who  take  a  different  view  of  his  character,  while 
they  admit  that  in  his  early  days  his  opinions  in  mat- 

80  "  II  ne  1'occuperoit  point  de  ces  choses  melancoliques,  mais  il  lui 
feroit  lire,  au  lieu  des  Saintes-Ecritures,  Amadis  de  Gaule  et  d'autres 
livres  amusants  du  meme  genre."  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange- 
Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  203*. 

21  "  II  estoit  du  nombre  de  ceulx  qui  pensent  que  la  religion  chresti- 
enne  soit  une  invention  politique,  pour  contenir  le  peuple  en  office  par 
voie  de  Dieu,  non  plus  ni  moins  que  les  ceremonies,  divinations  et 
superstitions  que  Numa  Pompilius  introduisit  a  Rome."  Commence 
ment  de  1'Hist.  des  Troubles,  MS.,  ap.  Gachard,  Correspondance  de 
Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn,  ii.,  Preface,  p.  5. 

32  "  Tantot  Catholique,  tantot  Calvinis'.c  ou  Lutherien  selon  les 
differentes  occasions,  et  selon  ses  divers  desseins."  Memoires  de 
Granvelle,  torn.  ii.  p.  54. 


WILLIAM  OF  ORANGE.  451 

ters  of  faith  were  unsettled,  contend  that  in  time  he 
became  sincerely  attached  to  the  doctrines  which  he 
defended  with  his  sword.  This  seems  to  be  no  more 
than  natural.  But  the  reader  will  have  an  opportunity 
of  judging  for  himself,  when  he  has  followed  the  great 
chief  through  the  changes  of  his  stormy  career. 

It  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if  the  leader  in  a  re 
ligious  revolution  should  have  been  himself  without 
any  religious  convictions.  One  thing  is  certain,  he 
possessed  a  spirit  of  toleration,  the  more  honorable 
that  in  that  day  it  was  so  rare.  He  condemned  the 
Calvinists  as  restless  and  seditious ;  the  Catholics,  for 
their  bigoted  attachment  to  a  dogma.  Persecution  in 
matters  of  faith  he  totally  condemned,  for  freedom  of 
judgment  in  such  matters  he  regarded  as  the  inalien 
able  right  of  man.23  These  conclusions,  at  which  the 
world,  after  an  incalculable  amount  of  human  suffer 
ing,  has  been  three  centuries  in  arriving  (has  it  alto 
gether  arrived  at  them  yet?),  must  be  allowed  to  reflect 
great  credit  on  the  character  of  William. 

23  "  Estimant,  ainsy  que  faisoient  lors  beaucoup  de  catholiques,  que 
c'estoit  chose  cruelle  de  faire  mourir  ung  homme,  pour  seulement 
avoir  soustenu  une  opinion,  jasoit  qu'elle  fut  erronee."  MS.  quoted 
by  Gachard,  Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn,  ii., 
Preface,  p.  4. 


CHAPTER     VI. 

OPPOSITION    TO   THE    GOVERNMENT. 

Grounds  of  Complaint.— The  Spanish  Troops.— The  New  Bishoprics. 
— Influence  of  Granvelle. — Opposed  by  the  Nobles. — His  Unpopu 
larity. 

1559-1562. 

THE  first  cause  of  trouble,  after  Philip's  departure 
from  the  Netherlands,  arose  from  the  detention  of  the 
Spanish  troops  there.  The  king  had  pledged  his 
word,  it  will  be  remembered,  that  they  should  leave 
the  country  by  the  end  of  four  months,  at  farthest. 
Yet  that  period  had  long  since  passed,  and  no  prepara 
tions  were  made  for  their  departure.  The  indignation 
of  the  people  rose  higher  and  higher  at  the  insult  thus 
offered  by  the  presence  of  these  detested  foreigners. 
It  was  a  season  of  peace.  No  invasion  was  threatened 
from  abroad;  no  insurrection  existed  at  home.  There 
was  nothing  to  require  the  maintenance  of  an  extraor 
dinary  force,  much  less  of  one  composed  of  foreign 
troops.  It  could  only  be  that  the  king,  distrusting  his 
Flemish  subjects,  designed  to  overawe  them  by  his  mer 
cenaries  in  sufficient  strength  to  enforce  his  arbitrary 
acts.  The  free  spirit  of  the  Netherlander  was  roused 
by  these  suggestions,  and  they  boldly  demanded  the 
removal  of  the  Spaniards. 

Granvelle  himself,  who  would  willingly  have  pleased 
(452) 


THE   SPANISH  TROOPS. 


453 


his  master  by  retaining  a  force  in  the  country  on 
which  he  could  rely,  admitted  that  the  project  was 
impracticable.  "The  troops  must  be  withdrawn," 
he  wrote,  "  and  that  speedily,  or  the  consequence 
will  be  an  insurrection."1  The  states  would  not 
consent,  he  said,  to  furnish  the  necessary  subsidies 
while  they  remained.  The  prince  of  Orange  and 
Count  Egmont  threw  up  the  commands  intrusted 
to  them  by  the  king.  They  dared  no  longer  hold 
them,  as  the  minister  added,  it  was  so  unpopular.2 

The  troops  had  much  increased  the  difficulty  by 
their  own  misconduct.  They  were  drawn  from  the 
great  mass,  often  the  dregs,  of  the  people ;  and  their 
morals,  such  as  they  were,  had  not  been  improved 
in  the  life  of  the  camp.  However  strict  their  disci 
pline  in  time  of  active  service,  it  was  greatly  relaxed 
in  their  present  state  of  inaction ;  and  they  had  full 
license,  as  well  as  leisure,  to  indulge  their  mischievous 
appetites,  at  the  expense  of  the  unfortunate  districts 
in  which  they  were  quartered. 

Yet  Philip  was  slow  in  returning  an  answer  to  the 
importunate  letters  of  the  regent  and  the  minister; 
and  when  he  did  reply  it  was  to  evade  their  request, 
lamenting  his  want  of  funds,  and  declaring  his  pur 
pose  to  remove  the  forces  so  soon  as  he  could  pay 

1  "  No  se  vee  que  puedan  quedar  aqui  mas  tiempo  sin  grandissimo 
peligro  de  que  dende  agora  las  cosas  entrassen  en  alboroto."    Papiers 
d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  vi.  p.  166. 

2  "  Harto  se  declaran  y  el  Principe  d'Oranges  y  Monsr  d'Egmont 
que  aunque  tuviessen  la  mayor  voluntad  del  mundo  para  servir  en 
'esto  &  V.  M.  de  tener  cargo   mas  tiempo  de  los   Espanoles,  no  lo 

osarian  emprender  si  bolviessen,  por  no  perderse  y  su  credito  y  repu- 
tacion  con  estos  estados."  Ibid.,  p.  197. 


454       OPPOSITION  TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

their  arrears.  The  public  exchequer  was  undoubtedly 
at  a  low  ebb;  lower  in  Spain  than  in  the  Nether 
lands.3  But  no  one  could  believe  the  royal  credit 
so  far  reduced  as  not  to  be  able  to  provide  for  the 
arrears  of  three  or  four  thousand  soldiers.  The 
regent,  however,  saw  that,  with  or  without  instruc 
tions,  it  was  necessary  to  act.  Several  of  the  mem 
bers  of  the  council  became  sureties  for  the  payment 
of  the  arrears,  and  the  troops  were  ordered  to  Zea 
land,  in  order  to  embark  for  Spain.  But  the  winds 
proved  unfavorable.  Two  months  longer  they  were 
detained,  on  shore  or  on  board  the  transports.  They 
soon  got  into  brawls  with  the  workmen  employed  on 
the  dikes;  and  the  inhabitants,  still  apprehensive  of 
orders  from  the  king  countermanding  the  departure 
of  the  Spaniards,  resolved,  in  such  an  event,  to  aban 
don  the  dikes  and  lay  the  country  under  water ! 4 
Fortunately,  they  were  not  driven  to  this  extremity. 
In  January,  1561,  more  than  a  year  after  the  date 

3  Some  notion   of  the  extent  of  these  embarrassments  may  be 
formed  from  a  schedule  prepared  by  the  king's  own  hand,  in  Sep 
tember,  1560.      From  this  it  appears  that  the  ordinary  sources  of  rev 
enue  were  already  mortgaged,  and  that,  taking  into  view  all  available 
means,  there  was  reason  to  fear  there  would  be  a  deficiency  at  the 
end  of  the  following  year  of  no  less  than  nine  millions  of  ducats. 
"  Where  the  means  of  meeling  this  are  to  come  from,"  Philip  bit 
terly  remarks,  "  I  do  not  know,  unless  it  be  from  the  clouds,  for  all 
usual  resources  are  exhausted."     This  was  a  sad  legacy  entailed 
on  the  young  monarch  by  his  father's  ambition.     The  document  is 
to  be  found  in  the   Pa  piers  d'£tat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  vi.  pp.  156- 
165. 

4  "  Dizen  todos  los  de  aquella  isla  que  antes  se  dexardn  ahogar 
con  ellos,  que  de  poner  la  mano  mas  adelante  en  el  reparo  tan 
necessario   de  los  diques."     Papiers   d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  vi. 
p.  200. 


THE  NEW  BISHOPRICS. 


455 


assigned  by  Philip,  the  nation  was  relieved  of  the 
presence  of  the  intruders.5 

Philip's  conduct  in  this  affair  it  is  not  very  easy 
to  explain.  However  much  he  might  have  desired 
originally  to  maintain  the  troops  in  the  Netherlands, 
as  an  armed  police  on  which  he  could  rely  to  enforce 
the  execution  of  his  orders,  it  had  become  clear  that 
the  good  they  might  do  in  quelling  an  insurrection 
was  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  probability 
of  their  exciting  one.  It  was  characteristic  of  the 
king,  however,  to  be  slow  in  retreating  from  any 
position  he  had  taken;  and,  as  we  shall  often  have 
occasion  to  see,  there  was  a  certain  apathy  or  slug 
gishness  in  his  nature,  which  led  him  sometimes  to 
leave  events  to  take  their  own  course,  rather  than  to 
shape  a  course  for  them  himself. 

This  difficulty  was  no  sooner  settled  than  it  was  fol 
lowed  by  another  scarcely  less  serious.  We  have  seen, 
in  a  former  chapter,  the  arrangements  made  for  adding 
thirteen  new  bishoprics  to  the  four  already  existing 
in  the  Netherlands.  The  measure,  in  itself  a  good 
one  and  demanded  by  the  situation  of  the  country, 
was,  from  the  posture  of  affairs  at  that  time,  likely  to 
meet  with  opposition,  if  not  to  occasion  great  excite 
ment.  For  this  reason,  the  whole  affair  had  been 
kept  profoundly  secret  by  the  government.  It  was  not 
till  1561  that  Philip  disclosed  his  views,  in  a  letter  to 
some  of  the  principal  nobles  in  the  council  of  state. 
But  long  before  that  time  the  project  had  taken  wind, 
and  created  a  general  sensation  through  the  country. 

5  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  192. — Strada,  De  Bello 
Belgico,  p.  in. 


456       OPPOSITION  TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

The  people  looked  on  it  as  an  attempt  to  subject 
them  to  the  same  ecclesiastical  system  which  existed 
in  Spain.  The  bishops,  by  -virtue  of  their  office, 
were  possessed  of  certain  inquisitorial  powers,  and 
these  were  still  further  enlarged  by  the  provisions  of 
the  royal  edicts.  Philip's  attachment  to  the  Inqui 
sition  was  well  understood,  and  there  was  probably 
not  a  child  in  the  country  who  had  not  heard  of  the 
auto  de  fe  which  he  had  sanctioned  by  his  presence 
on  his  return  to  his  dominions.  The  present  changes 
were  regarded  as  part  of  a  great  scheme  for  intro 
ducing  the  Spanish  Inquisition  into  the  Netherlands.6 
However  erroneous  these  conclusions,  there  is  little 
reason  to  doubt  they  were  encouraged  by  those  who 
knew  their  fallacy. 

The  nobles  had  other  reasons  for  opposing  the  meas 
ure.  The  bishops  would  occupy  in  the  legislature  the 
place  formerly  held  by  the  abbots,  who  were  indebted 
for  their  election  to  the  religious  houses  over  which 
they  presided.  The  new  prelates,  on  the  contrary, 
would  receive  their  nomination  from  the  crown ;  and 
the  nobles  saw  with  alarm  their  own  independence 
menaced  by  the  accession  of  an  order  of  men  who 
would  naturally  be  subservient  to  the  interests  of  the 
monarch.  That  the  crown  was  not  insensible  to  these 
advantages  is  evident  from  a  letter  of  the  minister,  in 
which  he  sneers  at  the  abbots,  as  "men  fit  only  to  rule 

6  "  Hase  con  industria  persuadido  d  los  pueblos  que  V.  M.  quiere 
poner  aqui  a  mi  instancia  la  inquisicion  de  Espana  so  color  de  los 
nuevos  obispados."  Granvelle  to  Philip,  Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle, 
torn.  vi.  p.  554.  See  also  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn,  i., 
passim. 


THE   NEW  BISHOPRICS.  457 

over  monasteries,  ever  willing  to  thwart  the  king,  and 
as  perverse  as  the  lowest  of  the  people."7 

But  the  greatest  opposition  arose  from  the  manner 
in  which  the  new  dignitaries  were  to  be  maintained. 
This  was  to  be  done  by  suppressing  the  offices  of  the 
abbots,  and  by  appropriating  the  revenues  of  their 
houses  to  the  maintenance  of  the  bishops.  For  this 
economical  arrangement  Granvelle  seems  to  have  been 
chiefly  responsible.  Thus,  the  income — amounting  to 
fifty  thousand  ducats — of  the  abbey  of  Afflighen,  one 
of  the  wealthiest  in  Brabant,  was  to  be  bestowed  on 
the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Mechlin,  to  be  held  by  the 
minister  himself.8  In  virtue  of  that  dignity,  Granvelle 
would  become  primate  of  the  Netherlands. 

Loud  was  the  clamor  excited  by  this  arrangement 
among  the  members  of  the  religious  fraternities,  and 
all  those  who  directly  or  indirectly  had  any  interest  in 
them.  It  was  a  manifest  perversion  of  the  funds  from 
the  objects  for  which  they  had  been  given  to  the  insti 
tutions.  It  was  interfering  with  the  economy  of  these 
institutions,  protected  by  the  national  charters;  and 
the  people  of  Brabant  appealed  to  the  "Joyeuse  En- 

1  "  Los  quales,  aunque  pueden  ser  a  proposito  para  administrar  sus 
abadias,  olvidan  el  beneficio  recebido  del  principe  y  en  las  cosas  de 
su  servicio  y  beneficio  comun  de  la  provincia  son  durissimos,  y  tan 
rudes  para  que  se  les  pueda  persuadir  la  razon,  como  seria  qualquier 
menor  hombre  del  pueblo."  Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  vi.  p. 
1 8. — The  intention  of  the  crown  appears  more  clearly  from  the  rather 
frank  avowal  of  .Granvelle  to  the  duchess  of  Parma,  made  indeed 
some  twenty  years  later,  1582,  that  it  was  a  great  object  with  Philip 
to  afford  a  counterpoise  in  the  states  to  the  authority  of  William  and 
his  associates.  Archives  de  la  Maison  d' Orange-Nassau,  torn.  viii. 
p.  96. 

8  Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  vi.  p.  17. 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — u  39 


458       OPPOSITION  TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

free."  Jurists  of  the  greatest  eminence,  in  different 
parts  of  Europe,  were  consulted  as  to  the  legality  of 
these  proceedings.  Thirty  thousand  florins  were  ex 
pended  by  Bra-bant  alone  in  this  matter,  as  well  as  in 
employing  an  agent  at  the  court  of  Rome  to  exhibit 
the  true  state  of  the  affair  to  his  holiness  and  to  coun 
teract  the  efforts  of  the  Spanish  government.9 

The  reader  may  remember  that  just  before  Philip's 
departure  from  the  Netherlands  a  bull  arrived  from 
Rome  authorizing  the  erection  of  the  new  bishoprics. 
This  was  but  the  initiatory  step.  Many  other  proceed 
ings  were  necessary  before  the  consummation  of  the 
affair.  Owing  to  impediments  thrown  in  the  way  by 
the  provinces,  and  the  habitual  tardiness  of  the  court 
of  Rome,  nearly  three  years  elapsed  before  the  final 
briefs  were  expedited  by  Pius  the  Fourth.  New  ob 
stacles  were  raised  by  the  jealous  temper  of  the  Flem 
ings,  who  regarded  the  whole  matter  as  a  conspiracy 
of  the  pope  and  the  king  against  the  liberties  of  the 
nation.  Utrecht,  Gueldres,  and  three  other  places 
refused  to  receive  their  bishops;*  and  they  never  ob 
tained  a  footing  there.  Antwerp,  which  was  to  have 
been  made  an  episcopal  see,  sent  a  commission  to  the 
king  to  represent  the  ruin  this  would  bring  on  its  trade, 
from  the  connection  supposed  to  exist  between  the 
episcopal  establishment  and  the  Spanish  Inquisition. 
For  a  year  the  king  would  not  condescend  to  give 

9  Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  71. 


*  [Utrecht  was  one  of  the  original  bishoprics,  erected  into  an  arch 
bishopric  under  the  new  arrangement.  Gueldres  was  not  one  of  the 
new  sees:  the  name  is  apparently  a  mistake  for  Groningen. — ED.] 


INFLUENCE    OF  GRANVELLE.  459 

any  heed  to  the  remonstrance.  He  finally  consented 
to  defer  the  decision  of  the  question  till  his  arrival  in 
the  country;  and  Antwerp  was  saved  from  its  bishop.10 

In  another  place  we  find  the  bishop  obtaining  an 
admission  through  the  management  of  Granvelle,  who 
profited  by  the  temporary  absence  of  the  nobles.  No 
where  were  the  new  prelates  received  with  enthusiasm, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  wherever  they  were  admitted,  it 
was  with  a  coldness  and  silence  that  intimated  too 
plainly  the  aversion  of  the  inhabitants.  Such  was  the 
case  with  the  archbishop  of  Mechlin  himself,  who 
made  his  entry  into  the  capital  of  his  diocese  with  not 
a  voice  to  cheer  or  to  welcome  him."  In  fact,  every 
where  the  newly-elected  prelate  seemed  more  like  the- 
thief  stealthily  climbing  into  the  fold,  than  the  good 
shepherd  who  had  come  to  guard  it. 

Meanwhile,  the  odium  of  these  measures  fell  on  the 
head  of  the  minister.  No  other  man  had  been  so 
active  in  enforcing  them,  and  he  had  the  credit  uni 
versally  with  the  people  of  having  originated  the  whole 
scheme  and  proposed  it  to  the  sovereign.  But  from 
this  Philip  expressly  exonerates  him  in  a  letter  to  the 
regent,  in  which  he  says  that  the  whole  plan  had  been 
settled  long  before  it  was  communicated  to  Granvelle." 

10  Papiers  d'etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  vi.  p.  612. — Correspondance 
de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  263. — Meteren,  Hist,  des  Pays-Bas,  fol.  51. 
— By  another  arrangement  the  obligations  of  Afflighen  and  the  other 
abbeys  of  Brabant  were  commuted  for  the  annual  payment  of  eight 
thousand  ducats  for  the  support  of  the  bishops.     This  agreement,  as 
well  as  that  with  Antwerp,  was  afterwards  set  aside  by  the  unscrupu 
lous  Alva,  who  fully  carried  out  the  original  intentions  of  the  crown. 

11  Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  77. 

12  "  En  ce  qui  concerne  les  nouveaux  eveches,  le  Roi  declare  que 


460       OPPOSITION   TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

Indeed,  the  latter,  with  some  show  of  reason,  demanded 
whether,  being  already  one  of  four  bishops  in  the 
country,  he  should  be  likely  to  recommend  a  plan 
which  would  make  him  only  one  of  seventeen.13  This 
appeal  to  self-interest  did  not  wholly  satisfy  those  who 
thought  that  it  was  better  to  be  the  first  of  seventeen 
than  to  be  merely  one  of  four  where  all  were  equal. 

Whatever  may  have  been  Granvelle's  original  way 
of  thinking  in  the  matter,  it  is  certain  that,  whether  it 
arose  from  his  accommodating  temper  or  from  his  per 
ceptions  of  the  advantages  of  the  scheme  being  quick 
ened  by  his  prospect  of  the  primacy,  he  soon  devoted 
himself,  heart  as  well  as  hand,  to  carry  out  the  royal 
views.  "I  am  convinced,"  he  writes,  in  the  spring 
of  1560,  to  Philip's  secretary,  Perez,  "that  no  measure 
could  be  more  advantageous  to  the  country,  or  more 
necessary  for  the  support  of  religion;  and,  if  necessary 
to  the  success  of  the  scheme,  I  would  willingly  devote 
to  it  my  fortune  and  my  life."  I4 

Accordingly,  we  find  him  using  all  his  strength  to 
carry  the  project  through,  devising  expedients  for 
raising  the  episcopal  revenues,  and  thus  occupying  a 
position  which  exposed  him  to  general  obloquy.  He 
felt  this  bitterly,  and  at  times,  even  with  all  his  con 
stancy,  was  hardly  able  to  endure  it.  "Though  I  say 
nothing,"  he  writes  in  the  month  of  September,  1561, 

jamais  Granvelle  ne  lui  en  conseilla  1'erection ;  qu'il  en  fit  meme  dans 
le  principe  un  mystere  au  cardinal,  et  que  celui-ci  n'en  cut  connais- 
sance  que  lorsque  I'affaire  etait  dejk  bien  avancee."  Correspondance 
de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  207. 

J3  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  viii.  p.  54. 

»*  "  II  serait  pret  a  y  contribuer  de  sa  fortune,  de  son  sang  et  de  sa 
propre  vie.V  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  189. 


INFLUENCE    OF  GRANVELLE.  461 

to  the  Spanish  ambassador  in  Rome,  "I  feel  the  danger 
of  the  situation  in  which  the  king  has  placed  me.  All 
the  odium  of  these  measures  falls  on  my  head ;  and  I 
only  pray  that  a  remedy  for  the  evil  may  be  found, 
though  it  should  be  by  the  sacrifice  of  myself.  Would 
to  God  the  erection  of  these  bishoprics  had  never  been 
thought  of!"13 

In  February,  1561,  Granvelle  received  a  cardinal's 
hat  from  Pope  Pius  the  Fourth.  He  did  not  show 
the  alacrity  usually  manifested  in  accepting  this  dis 
tinguished  honor.  He  had  obtained  it  by  the  private 
intercession  of  the  duchess  of  Parma;  and  he  feared 
lest  the  jealousy  of  Philip  might  be  alarmed  were  it  to 
any  other  than  himself  that  his  minister  owed  this  dis 
tinction.  But  the  king  gave  the  proceeding  his  cordial 
sanction,  declaring  to  Granvelle  that  the  reward  was 
no  higher  than  his  desert. 

Thus  clothed  with  the  Roman  purple,  primate  of 
the  Netherlands,  and  first  minister  of  state,  Granvelle 
might  now  look  down  on  the  proudest  noble  in  the 
land.  He  stood  at  the  head  of  both  the  civil  and 
the  ecclesiastical  administration  of  the  country.  All 
authority  centred  in  his  person.  Indeed,  such  had 
been  the  organization  of  the  council  of  state  that  the 
minister  might  be  said  to  be  not  so  much  the  head  of 
the  government  as  the  government  itself. 

The  affairs  of  the  council  were  conducted  in  the 
manner  prescribed  by  Philip.  Ordinary  business  passed 

!5  "  Veo  el  odio  de  los  Estados  cafgar  sobre  mi,  mas  pluguiesse  d 
Dios  que  con  sacrificarme  fuesse  todo  remediado.  .  .  .  Que  plugiera 
&  Dios  que  jamas  se  huviera  pensado  en  esta  ereccion  destas  yglesias  ; 
amen,  amen"  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  117. 


462       OPPOSITION  TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

through  the  hands  of  the  whole  body;  but  affairs  of 
moment  were  reserved  for  the  cardinal  and  his  two 
coadjutors  to  settle  with  the  regent.  On  such  occa 
sions  the  other  ministers  were  not  even  summoned,  or, 
if  summoned,  such  only  of  the  despatches  from  Spain 
as  the  minister  chose  to  communicate  were  read,  and 
the  remainder  reserved  for  the  consulta.  When,  as  did 
sometimes  happen,  the  nobles  carried  a  measure  in 
opposition  to  Granvelle,  he  would  refer  the  whole 
question  to  the  court  at  Madrid.16  By  this  expedient 
he  gained  time  for  the  present,  and  probably  obtained 
a  decision  in  his  favor  at  last.  The  regent  conformed 
entirely  to  the  cardinal's  views.  The  best  possible 
understanding  seems  to  have  subsisted  between  them, 
to  judge  from  the  tone  of  their  correspondence  with 
Philip,  in  which  each  of 'the  parties  bestows  the  most 
unqualified  panegyric  on  the  other.  Yet  there  was  a 
strange  reserve  in  their  official  intercourse.  Even  when 
occupying  the  same  palace,  they  are  said  to  have  com 
municated  with  each  other  by  writing.17  The  reason 
suggested  for  this  singular  proceeding  is,  that  it  might 
not  appear,  from  their  being  much  together,  that  the 
regent  was  acting  so  entirely  under  the  direction  of 
the  minister.  It  is  certain  that  both  Margaret  and 
Granvelle  had  an  uncommon  passion  for  letter-writing, 
as  is  shown  by  the  length  and  number  of  their  epistles, 
particularly  to  the  king.  The  cardinal  especially  went 
into  a  gossiping  minuteness  of  detail  to  which  few  men 
in  his  station  would  have  condescended.  But  his 
master,  to  whom  his  letters  at  this  period  were  chiefly 

*6  Meteren,  Hist,  des  Pays-Has,  fol.  63. 
*7  Stracla,  De  Bello  Belgico,  p.  88. 
39* 


OPPOSED   BY   THE   NOBLES.  463 

addressed,  had  the  virtue  of  patience  in  an  extraordi 
nary  degree,  as  is  evinced  by  the  faithful  manner  in 
which  he  perused  these  despatches  and  made  notes 
upon  them  with  his  own  hand. 

The  minister  occupied  a  palace  in  Brussels,  and 
had  another  residence  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
capital.18  He  maintained  great  pomp  in  his  estab 
lishment,  was  attended  by  a  large  body  of  retainers, 
and  his  equipage  and  liveries  were  distinguished  by 
their  magnificence.  He  gave  numerous  banquets, 
held  large  levees,  and,  in  short,  assumed  a  state  in 
his  manner  of  living  which  corresponded  with  his 
station  and  did  no  violence  to  his  natural  taste.  We 
may  well  believe  that  the  great  lords  of  the  country, 
whose  ancestors  had  for  centuries  filled  its  highest 
places,  must  have  chafed  as  they  saw  themselves 
thrown  into  the  shade  by  one  whose  fortunes  had 
been  thus  suddenly  forced  to  this  unnatural  height 
by  the  sunshine  of  royal  favor.  Their  indignation 
was  heightened  by  the  tricky  arrangement  which, 
while  it  left  them  ciphers  in  the  administration,  made 
them  responsible  to  the  people  for  its  measures.  And 
if  the  imputation  to  Granvelle  of  arrogance,  in  the 
pride  of  his  full-blown  fortunes,  was  warranted,  feel 
ings  of  a  personal  nature  may  have  mingled  with  those 
of  general  discontent. 

But,  however  they  may  have  felt,  the  Flemish  lords 
must  be  allowed  not  to  have  been  precipitate  in  the 
demonstration  of  their  feelings.  It  is  not  till  1562 
that  we  observe  the  cardinal,  in  his  correspondence 
with  Spain,  noticing  any  discourtesy  in  the  nobles 

18  Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  52. 


464       OPPOSITION  TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

or  intimating  the  existence  of  any  misunderstanding 
with  them.  In  the  spring  of  the  preceding  year  we 
find  the  prince  of  Orange  "commending  himself 
cordially  and  affectionately  to  the  cardinal's  good 
will,"  and  subscribing  himself,  "  your  very  good 
friend  to  command."19  In  four  months  after  this, 
on  the  twenty-third  of  July,  we  have  a  letter  from 
this  "very  good  friend"  and  Count  Egmont,  ad 
dressed  to  Philip.  In  this  epistle  the  writers  com 
plain  bitterly  of  their  exclusion  from  all  business  of 
importance  in  the  council  of  state.  They  were  only 
invited  to  take  part  in  deliberations  of  no  moment. 
This  was  contrary  to  the  assurance  of  his  majesty 
when  they  reluctantly  accepted  office;  and  it  was  in 
obedience  to  his  commands  to  advise  him  if  this 
should  occur  that  they  now  wrote  to  him.20  Never 
theless,  they  should  have  still  continued  to  bear  the  in 
dignity  in  silence,  had  they  not  found  that  they  were 
held  responsible  by  the  people  for  measures  in  which 
they  had  no  share.21  Considering  the  arrangement 
Philip  had  made  for  the  consulta,  one  has  little  reason 
to  commend  his  candor  in  this  transaction,  and  not 
much  to  praise  his  policy.  As  he  did  not  redress  the 
evil,  his  implied  disavowal  of  being  privy  to  it  would 

X9  Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn.  ii.  p.  15. 

20  The  nobles,  it  appears,  had  complained  to  Philip  that  they  had 
been  made  to  act  this  unworthy  part  in  the  cabinet  of  the  duke  of 
Savoy,  when  regent  of  the  Netherlands.  Granvelle,  singularly  enough, 
notices  this  in  a  letter  to  the  Regent  Mary,  in  1555,  treating  it  as  a 
mere  suspicion  on  their  part.  (See  Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le 
Taciturne,  torn,  ii.,  Preface,  p.  ix.)  The  course  of  things  under  the 
present  regency  may  be  thought  to  show  there  was  good  ground  for 
this  suspicion.  , 

31  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  195. 


OPPOSED  BY  THE   NOBLES.  465 

hardly  go  for  any  thing  with  the  injured  party.  In  his 
answer,  Philip  thanked  the  nobles  for  their  zeal  in  his 
service,  and  promised  to  reply  to  them  more  at  large 
on  the  return  of  Count  Hoorne  to  Flanders.22 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  Granvelle  was 
ever  acquainted  with  the  fact  of  the  letter  having 
been  written  by  the  two  lords.  The  privilege  claimed 
by  the  novelist,  who  looks  over  the  shoulders  of  his 
heroes  and  heroines  when  they  are  inditing  their 
epistles,  is  also  enjoyed  by  the  historian.  With  the 
materials  rescued  from  the  mouldering  archives  of 
the  past,  he  can  present  the  reader  with  a  more 
perfect  view  of  the  motives  and  opinions  of  the 
great  actors  in  the  drama  three  centuries  ago,  than 
they  possessed  in  respect  to  one  another.  This  is 
particularly  true  of  the  period  before  us,  when  the 
correspondence  of  the  parties  interested  was  ample 
in  itself,  and,  through  the  care  taken  of  it  in  public 
and  private  collections,  has  been  well  preserved. 
Such  care  was  seldom  bestowed  on  historical  docu 
ments  of  this  class  before  the  sixteenth  century. 

It  is  not  till  long — nearly  a  year — after  the  date 
of  the  preceding  letter  that  any  thing  appears  to 
intimate  the  existence  of  a  coldness,  much  less  of  an 
open  rupture,  between  Granvelle  and  the  discontented 
nobles.  Meanwhile,  the  religious  troubles  in  France 
had  been  fast  gathering  to  a  head;  and  the  opposite 
factions  ranged  themselves  under  the  banners  of  their 
respective  chiefs,  prepared  to  decide  the  question  by 
arms.  Philip  the  Second,  who  stood  forth  as  the 
champion  of  Catholicism,  not  merely  in  his  own  do- 

22  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i. 
U* 


466       OPPOSITION   TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

minions  but  throughout  Christendom,  watched  with 
anxiety  the  struggle  going  forward  in  the  neighboring 
kingdom.  It  had  the  deeper  interest  for  him  from 
its  influence  on  the  Low  Countries.  His  Italian 
possessions  were  separated  from  France  by  the  Alps; 
his  Spanish,  by  the  Pyrenees.  But  no  such  mountain- 
barrier  lay  between  France  and  Flanders.  They  were 
not  even  separated,  in  the  border  provinces,  by  differ 
ence  of  language.  Every  shock  given  to  France  must 
necessarily  be  felt  in  the  remotest  corner  of  the  Neth 
erlands.  Granvelle  was  so  well  aware  of  this  that  he 
besought  the  king  to  keep  an  eye  on  his  French  neigh 
bors  and  support  them  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion.  "That  they  should  be  main 
tained  in  this  is  quite  as  important  to  us  as  it  is  to 
them.  Many  here,"  he  adds,  "  would  be  right  glad  to 
see  affairs  go  badly  for  the  Catholics  in  that  kingdom. 
No  noble  among  us  has  as  yet  openly  declared  himself. 
Should  any  one  do  so,  God  only  could  save  the  country 
from  the  fate  of  France. ' ' 23 

Acting  on  these  hints,  and  conformably  to  his  own 
views,  Philip  sent  orders  to"  the  regent  to  raise  two 
thousand  men  and  send  them  across  the  borders  to 
support  the  French  Catholics.  The  orders  met  with 
decided  resistance  in  the  council  of  state.  The  great 
Flemish  lords,  at  this  time,  must  have  affected,  if  they 
did  not  feel,  devotion  to  the  established  religion. 

23  "  Que  bien  claro  muestran  muchos  que  no  les  pesaria  de  que 
fuessen  mal,  y  que,  si  lo  de  alii  diesse  al  trave"s,  bien  brevemente  se 
yria  por  acd  el  mismo  camino.  Y  ha  sido  muestra  dicha,  que  ninguno 
destos  senores  se  haya  declarado,  que  si  lo  hiziera  alguno,  otro  que 
Dios  no  pudiera  estorvar  que  lo  de  aqui  no  siguiera  el  camino  de 
Francia."  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  230. 


OPPOSED  BY  THE   NOBLES.  467 

But  they  well  knew  there  was  too  large  a  leaven  of 
heresy  in  the  country  to  make  these  orders  palatable. 
They  felt  no  desire,  moreover,  thus  unnecessarily  to 
mix  themselves  up  with  the  feuds  of  France.  They 
represented  that  the  troops  could  not  safely  be  dis 
pensed  with  in  the  present  state  of  feeling  at  home, 
and  that  if  they  marched  against  the  Protestants  of 
France  the  German  Protestants  might  be  expected  to 
march  against  them. 

Granvelle,  on  the  other  hand,  would  have  enforced 
the  orders  of  Philip,  as  essential  to  the  security  of 
the  Netherlands  themselves.  Margaret,  thus  pressed 
by  the  opposite  parties,  felt  the  embarrassment  of 
either  course.  The  alternative  presented  was  that  of 
disobeying  the  king,  or  of  incurring  the  resentment, 
perhaps  the  resistance,  of  the  nation.  Orange  and 
Egmont  besought  her  to  convoke  the  states-general, 
as  the  only  safe  counsellors  in  such  an  emergency. 
The  states  had  often  been  convened  on  matters  of 
less  moment  by  the  former  regent,  Mary  of  Hun 
gary.  But  the  cardinal  had  no  mind  to  invoke  the 
interference  of  that  "mischievous  animal,  the  peo 
ple."24  He  had  witnessed  a  convocation  of  the 
states  previous  to  the  embarkation  of  Philip ;  and  he 
had  not  forgotten  the  independent  tone  then  assumed 
by  that  body.  It  had  been,  indeed,  the  last  injunction 
of  the  king  to  his  sister  on  no  account  to  call  a  meet 
ing  of  the  national  legislature  till  his  return  to  the 
country. 

24  "  Ce  mechant  animal  nomme  le  peuple," — the  cardinal's  own 
words,  in  a  letter  to  the  king.  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn. 
i.  p.  290. 


468       OPPOSITION  TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

But  while  on  this  ground  Margaret  refused  to  sum 
mon  the  states-general,  she  called  a  meeting  of  the 
order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  to  whom  she  was  to 
apply  for  counsel  on  extraordinary  occasions.  The 
knights  of  the  order  consisted  of  persons  of  the 
highest  consideration  in  the  country,  including  the 
governors  of  the  provinces.  In  May,  1562,  they 
assembled  at  Brussels.  Before  meeting  in  public, 
the  prince  of  Orange  invited  them  to  a  conference 
in  his  own  palace.  He  there  laid  before  them  the 
state  of  the  country,  and  endeavored  to  concert  with 
the  members  some  regular  system  of  resistance  to 
the  exclusive  and  arbitrary  course  of  the  minister. 
Although  no  definite  action  took  place  at  that  time, 
most  of  those  present  would  seem  to  have  fallen  in 
with  the  views  of  the  prince.  There  were  some,  how 
ever,  who  took  opposite  ground,  and  who  declared 
themselves  content  with  Granvelle  and  not  disposed 
to  prescribe  to  their  sovereign  the  choice  of  his 
ministers.  The  foremost  of  these  were  the  duke  of 
Aerschot,  a  zealous  Catholic,  and  Count  Barlaimont, 
president  of  the  council  of  finance,  and,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  altogether  devoted  to  the  minister. 
This  nobleman  communicated  to  Margaret  the  par 
ticulars  of  the  meeting  in  the  prince's  palace ;  and 
the  regent  was  careful  to  give  the  knights  of  the 
order  such  incessant  occupation  during  the  remainder 
of  their  stay  in  the  capital  as  to  afford  the  prince 
of  Orange  no  opportunity  of  pursuing  his  scheme  of 
agitation.25 

23  Strata,  De  Bello  Belgico,  p.  145. — Correspondance  de  Philippe 
II.,  torn.  i.  p.  202. 


OPPOSED   BY  THE  NOBLES.  469 

Before  the  assembly  of  the  Golden  Fleece  had 
been  dissolved,  it  was  decided  to  send  an  envoy  to 
the  king,  to  lay  before  him  the  state  of  the  country, 
both  in  regard  to  the  religious  excitement,  much 
stimulated  in  certain  quarters  by  the  condition  of 
France,  and  to  the  financial  embarrassments,  which 
now  pressed  heavily  on  the  government.  The  per 
son  selected  for  the  office  was  Florence  de  Mont- 
morency,  lord  of  Montigny,  a  cavalier  who  had  the 
boldness  to  avow  his  aversion  to  any  interference 
with  the  rights  of  conscience,  and  whose  sympa 
thies,  it  will  be  believed,  were  not  on  the  side  of 
the  minister. 

Soon  after  his  departure,  the  vexed  question  of  aid 
to  France  was  settled  in  the  council  by  commuting 
personal  service  for  money.  It  was  decided  to  raise 
a  subsidy  of  fifty  thousand  crowns,  to  be  remitted  at 
once  to  the  French  government.26 

Montigny  reached  Spain  in  June,  1562.  He  was 
graciously  received  by  Philip,  who,  in  a  protracted 
audience,  gathered  from  him  a  circumstantial  account 
of  the  condition  of  the  Netherlands.  In  answer  to 
the  royal  queries,  the  envoy  also  exposed  the  mis 
understanding  which  existed  between  the  minister  and 
the  nobles. 

But  the  duchess  of  Parma  did  not  trust  this  deli 
cate  affair  to  the  representations  of  Montigny.  She 
wrote  herself  to  her  brother,  in  Italian,  which,  when 
she  would  give  her  own  views  on  matters  of  impor 
tance,  she  used  instead  of  French,  ordinarily  em 
ployed  by  the  secretaries.  In  Italian  she  expressed 

26  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  pp.  210,  214. 
Philip. — VOL.  I.  40 


470       OPPOSITION  TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

herself  with  the  greatest  fluency,  and  her  letters  in 
that  language,  for  the  purpose  of  secrecy,  were  written 
with  her  own  hand. 

The  duchess  informed  the  king  of  the  troubles  that 
had  arisen  with  the  nobles;  charging  Orange  and 
Egmont,  especially,  as  the  source  of  them.  She 
accused  them  of  maliciously  circulating  rumors  that 
the  cardinal  had  advised  Philip  to  invade  the  country 
with  an  armed  force  and  to  cut  off  the  heads  of 
some  five  or  six  of  the  principal  malecontents.27  She 
paid  a  high  tribute  to  the  minister's  loyalty  and  his 
talent  for  business ;  and  she  besought  the  king  to  dis 
abuse  Montigny  in  respect  to  the  common  idea  of  a 
design  to  introduce  the  Spanish  Inquisition  into  the 
country  and  to  do  violence  to  its  institutions. 

The  war  was  now  openly  proclaimed  between  the 
cardinal  and  the  nobles.  Whatever  decorum  might 
be  preserved  in  their  intercourse,  there  was  no  longer 
any  doubt  as  to  the  hostile  attitude  in  which  they 
were  hereafter  to  stand  in  respect  to  each  other.  In 
a  letter  written  a  short  time  previous  to  that  of  the 
regent,  the  cardinal  gives  a  brief  view  of  his  situa 
tion  to  the  king.  The  letter  is  written  in  the  cour 
ageous  spirit  of  one  who  does  not  shrink  from  the 
dangers  that  menace  him.  After  an  observation  inti 
mating  no  great  confidence  in  the  orthodoxy  of  the 
prince  of  Orange,  he  remarks,  "Though  the  prince 
shows  me  a  friendly  face,  when  absent  he  is  full  of 
discontent.  They  have  formed  a  league  against  me," 

^  "  X  qui  ils  imputent  d'avoir  ecrit  au  Roi  qu'il  fallait  couper  une 
demi-douzaine  de  tetes,  et  venir  en  force,  pour  conquerir  le  pays." 
Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  203. 


OPPOSED   BY  THE   NOBLES.  471 

he  continues,  "and  threaten  my  life.  But  I  have 
little  fear  on  that  score,  as  I  think  they  are  much 
too  wise  to  attempt  any  such  thing.  They  complain 
of  my  excluding  them  from  office  and  endeavoring 
to  secure  an  absolute  authority  for  your  majesty. 
All  which  they  repeat  openly  at  their  banquets,  with 
no  good  effect  on  the  people.  Yet  never  were  there 
governors  of  the  provinces  who  possessed  so  much 
power  as  they  have,  or  who  had  all  appointments 
more  completely  in  their  own  hands.  In  truth,  their 
great  object  is  to  reduce  your  majesty  and  the  regent 
to  the  condition  of  mere  ciphers  in  the  government." 

"They  refuse  to  come  to  my  table,"  he  adds,  "at 
which  I  smile.  I  find  guests  enough  in  the  gentry 
of  the  country,  the  magistrates,  and  even  the  worthy 
burghers  of  the  city,  whose  good  will  it  is  well  to 
conciliate  against  a  day  of  trouble.  These  evils  I 
bear  with  patience,  as  I  can.  For  adversity  is  sent 
by  the  Almighty,  who  will  recompense  those  who 
suffer  for  religion  and  justice."  The  cardinal  was 
fond  of  regarding  himself  in  the  light  of  a  martyr. 

He  concludes  this  curious  epistle  with  beseeching 
the  king  to  come  soon  to  the  Netherlands, — "to 
come  well  attended,  and  with  plenty  of  money  ;  since, 
thus  provided,  he  will  have  no  lack  of  troops,  if  re 
quired  to  act  abroad,  while  his  presence  will  serve 
to  calm  the  troubled  spirits  at  home."28  The  politic 
minister  says  nothing  of  the  use  that  might  be  made 

28  "  Lo  principal  es  que  venga  con  dinero  y  credito,  que  con  esto 
no  faltara  gente  para  lo  que  se  huviesse  de  hazer  con  los  vezinos, 
y  su  presencia  valdra  mucho  para  assossegar  todo  lo  de  sus  subditos." 
Papiers  d'fetat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  vi.  p.  562. 


472 


OPPOSITION  TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 


of  these  troops  at  home.  Such  an  intimation  would 
justify  the  charges  already  brought  against  him.  He 
might  safely  leave  his  master  to  make  that  application 
for  himself. 

In  December,  1562,  Montigny  returned  from  his 
mission,  and  straightway  made  his  report  to  the 
council  of  state.  He  enlarged  on  the  solicitude 
which  Philip  had  shown  for  the  interests  of  the 
country.  Nothing  had  been  further  from  his  mind 
than  to  introduce  into  it  the  Spanish  Inquisition. 
He  was  only  anxious  to  exterminate  the  growing 
heresy  from  the  land,  and  called  on  those  in  author 
ity  to  aid  in  the  good  work  with  all  their  strength. 
Finally,  though  pressed  by  want  of  funds,  he  prom 
ised,  so  soon  as  he  could  settle  his  affairs  in  Spain, 
to  return  to  Flanders.  It  was  not  unusual  for  Philip 
to  hold  out  the  idea  of  his  speedy  return  to  the 
country.  The  king's  gracious  reception  seems  to 
have  had  some  effect  on  Montigny.  At  all  events, 
he  placed  a  degree  of  confidence  in  the  royal  pro 
fessions  in  which  the  skeptical  temper  of  William 
was  far  from  acquiescing.  He  intimated  as  much 
to  his  friend,  and  the  latter,  not  relishing  the  part 
of  a  dupe,  which  the  prince's  language  seemed  to 
assign  to  him,  retorted  in  an  angry  manner;  and 
something  like  an  altercation  took  place  between 
the  two  lords,  in  the  presence  of  the  duchess.  At 
least,  such  is  the  report  of  the  historians.39  But  his 
torians  in  a  season  of  faction  are  not  the  best  authori- 

29  Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  91. — Memoires 
de  Granvelle,  torn.  ii.  p.  24, — a  doubtful  authority,  it  must  be  ad 
mitted. 


RESISTANCE    TO    THE   EDICTS. 


473 


ties.     In  the  troubles  before  us  we  have  usually  a  safer 
guide  in  the  correspondence  of  the  actors. 

By  Montigny  despatches  were  also  brought  from 
Philip  for  the  duchess  of  Parma.  They  contained 
suggestions  as  to  her  policy  in  reference  to  the  factious 
nobles,  whom  the  king  recommended  to  her,  if  pos 
sible,  to  divide  by  sowing  the  seeds  of  jealousy  among 
them.30  Egrnont  was  a  stanch  Catholic,  loyal  in  his 
disposition,  ambitious,  and  vain.  It  would  not  be  dif 
ficult  to  detach  him  from  his  associates  by  a  show  of 
preference  which,  while  it  flattered  his  vanity,  would 
excite  in  them  jealousy  and  distrust. 

In  former  times  there  had  been  something  of  these 
feelings  betwixt  Egmont  and  the  prince  of  Orange. 
At  least  there  had  been  estrangement.  This  might  in 
some  degree  be  referred  to  the  contrast  in  their  char 
acters.  Certainly  no  two  characters  could  be  more 
strongly  contrasted  with  each  other.  Egmont,  frank, 
fiery,  impulsive  in  his  temper,  had  little  in  common 
with  the  cool,  cautious,  and  calculating  William.  The 
showy  qualities  of  the  former,  lying  on  the  surface, 
more  readily  caught  the  popular  eye.  There  was  a 
depth  in  William's  character  not  easy  to  be  fathomed, 
— an  habitual  reserve,  which  made  it  difficult  even  for 
those  who  knew  him  best  always  to  read  him  right. 
Yet  the  coolness  between  these  two  nobles  may  have 
arisen  less  from  difference  of  character  than  from  simi 
larity  of  position.  Both,  by  their  rank  and  services, 

y>  "  It  is  not  true,"  Philip  remarks,  in  a  letter  to  the  duchess  dated 
July  I7th,  1562,  "  that  Granvelle  ever  recommended  me  to  cut  off 
half  a  dozen  heads.  Though,"  adds  the  monarch,  "  it  may  perhaps 
be  well  enough  to  have  recourse  to  this  measure."  Correspondance 
de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  207. 

40* 


474      OPPOSITION  TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

took  the  foremost  ground  in  public  estimation,  so  that 
it  was  scarcely  possible  they  should  not  jostle  each 
other  in  the  career  of  ambition.  But,  however  divided 
formerly,  they  were  now  too  closely  united  by  the 
pressure  of  external  circumstances  to  be  separated  by 
the  subtle  policy  of  Philip.  Under  the  influence  of  a 
common  disgust  with  the  administration  and  its  arbi 
trary  measures,  they  continued  to  act  in  concert  to 
gether,  and  in  their  union  derived  benefit  from  the 
very  opposition  of  their  characters.  For  what  better 
augury  of  success  than  that  afforded  by  the  union  of 
wisdom  in  council  with  boldness  in  execution  ? 

The  consequences  of  the  troubles  in  France,  as  had 
been  foreseen,  were  soon  visible  in  the  Low  Countries. 
The  Protestants  of  that  time  constituted  a  sort  of 
federative  republic,  or  rather  a  great  secret  associa 
tion,  extending  through  the  different  parts  of  Europe, 
but  so  closely  linked  together  that  a  blow  struck  in  one 
quarter  instantly  vibrated  to  every  other.  The  Cal- 
vinists  in  the  border  provinces  of  the  Low  Countries 
felt,  in  particular,  great  sympathy  with  the  movements 
of  their  French  brethren.  Many  Huguenots  took  shel 
ter  among  them.  Others  came  to  propagate  their  doc 
trines.  Tracts  in  the  French  tongue  were  distributed 
and  read  with  avidity.  Preachers  harangued  in  the  con 
venticles;  and  the  people,  by  hundreds  and  thousands, 
openly  assembled,  and,  marching  in  procession,  chanted 
the  Psalms  of  David  in  the  translation  of  Marot.31 

This  open  defiance  of  the  edicts  called  for  the  im- 

31  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  pp.  78,  79,  133,  134.— Renom  de 
Francia,  Alborotos  de  Flandes,  MS. — Meteren,  Hist,  des  Pays-Bas, 
fol.  31,  32. 


RESISTANCE    TO    THE   EDICTS. 


475 


mediate  interposition  of  the  government.  At  Tournay 
two  Calvinist  preachers  were  arrested,  and,  after  a 
regular  trial,  condemned  and  burned  at  the  stake.  In 
Valenciennes  two  others  were  seized,  in  like  manner, 
tried,  and  sentenced  to  the  same  terrible  punishment. 
But  as  the  marquis  of  Bergen,  the  governor  of  the 
province,  had  left  the  place  on  a  visit  to  a  distant 
quarter,  the  execution  was  postponed  till  his  return. 
Seven  months  thus  passed,  when  the  regent  wrote  to 
the  marquis,  remonstrating  on  his  unseasonable  ab 
sence  from  his  post.  He  had  the  spirit  to  answer  that 
"it  neither  suited  his  station  nor  his  character  to  play 
the  part  of  an  executioner."32  The  marquis  of  Bergen 
had  early  ranged  himself  on  the  side  of  the  prince  of 
Orange,  and  he  is  repeatedly  noticed  by  Granvelle,  in 
his  letters,  as  the  most  active  of  the  malecontents.  It 
may  well  be  believed  he  was  no  friend  to  the  system 
of  persecution  pursued  by  the  government.  Urged  by 
Granvelle,  the  magistrates  of  the  city  at  length  assumed 
the  office  of  conducting  the  execution  themselves.  On 
the  day  appointed,  the  two  martyrs  were  escorted  to  the 
stake.  The  funeral  pile  was  prepared,  and  the  torch 
was  about  to  be  applied,  when,  at  a  signal  from  one 
of  the  prisoners,  the  multitude  around  broke  in  upon 
the  place  of  execution,  trampled  down  the  guards  and 
officers  of  justice,  scattered  the  fagots  collected  for  the 
sacrifice,  and  liberated  the  victims.  Then,  throwing 
themselves  into  a  procession,  they  paraded  the  streets  of 
the  city,  singing  their  psalms  and  Calvinistic  hymns. 
Meanwhile  the  officers  of  justice  succeeded  in  again 

32  "  Qu'il  n'etoit  ni  de  son  caractere  ni  de  son  honneur  d'etre  le 
Bourreau  des  Heretiques."     Memoires  de  Granvelle,  torn.  i.  p.  304. 


476       OPPOSITION   TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

arresting  the  unfortunate  men  and  carrying  them  back 
to  prison.  But  it  was  not  long  before  their  friends, 
assembling  in  greater  numbers  than  before,  stormed  the 
fortress,  forced  the  gates,  and,  rescuing  the  prisoners, 
carried  them  off  in  triumph. 

These  high-handed  measures  caused,  as  may  be  sup 
posed,  great  indignation  at  the  court  of  the  regent. 
She  instantly  ordered  a  levy  of  three  thousand  troops, 
and,  placing  them  under  the  marquis  of  Bergen,  sent 
them  against  the  insurgents.  The  force  was  such  as  to 
overcome  all  resistance.  Arrests  were  made  in  great 
numbers,  and  the  majesty  of  the  law  was  vindicated 
by  the  trial  and  punishment  of  the  ringleaders.33 

''Rigorous  and  severe  measures,"  wrote  Philip,  "are 
the  only  ones  to  be  employed  in  matters  of  religion. 
It  is  by  fear  only  that  the  rabble" — meaning  by  this 
the  Reformers — "can  be  made  to  do  their  duty,  and 
not  always  then."34  This  liberal  sentiment  found  less 
favor  in  the  Low  Countries*  than  in  Spain.  "One  must 
ponder  well,"  writes  the  cardinal  to  Perez,  the  royal 
secretary,  "before  issuing  those  absolute  decrees,  which 
are  by  no  means  as  implicitly  received  here  as  they  are  in 
Italy." 3S  The  Fleming  appealed  to  his  laws,  and,  with 
all  the  minister's  zeal,  it  was  found  impossible  to  move 
forward  at  the  fiery  pace  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition. 

33  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  pp.  136,  137. — Renom  de  Francia,  Al- 
borotos  de  Flandes,  MS. — Brandt,  Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries, 
vol.  i.  pp.  137,  138. 

34  "  En  las  [cosas]  de  la  religion  no  se  9ufre  temporizar,  sino  casti- 
garlas  con  todo  rigor  y  severidad,  que  estos  villacos  sino  es  por  miedo 
no  hazen  cosa  buena,  y  aun  con  el,  no  todas  vezes."     Papiers  d'Etat 
de  Granvelle,  torn.  vi.  p.  421. 

35  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  207. 


RESISTANCE    TO    THE  EDICTS. 


477 


"It  would  raise  a  tumult  at  once,"  he  writes, 
"should  we  venture  to  arrest  a  man  without  the  clear 
est  evidence.  No  man  can  be  proceeded  against  with 
out  legal  proof."36  But  an  insurmountable  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  enforcing  the  cruel  edicts  lay  in  the  feelings 
of  the  nation.  No  law  repugnant  to  such  feelings  can 
long  be  executed.  "  I  accuse  none  of  the  nobles  of 
being  heretics,"  writes  the  regent  to  her  brother;  "but 
they  show  little  zeal  in  the  cause  of  religion,  while  the 
magistrates  shrink  from  their  duty  from  fear  of  the 
people."37  "  How  absurd  is  it,"  exclaims  Granvelle, 
"for  depositions  to  be  taken  before  the  Inquisition  in 
Spain,  in  order  to  search  out  heretics  in  Antwerp, 
where  thousands  are  every  day  walking  about  whom 
no  one  meddles  with  !"38  "It  is  more  than  a  year," 
he  says,  "since  a  single  arrest  on  a  charge  of  heresy 
has  taken  place  in  that  city."39  Yet,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  state  of  persecution  at  the  present  time, 
the  vague  dread  of  the  future  must  have  taken  strong 
hold  of  people's  minds,  if,  as  a  contemporary  writes, 
there  were  no  less  than  eighteen  or  twenty  thousand 
refugees  then  in  England  who  had  fled  from  Flanders 
for  the  sake  of  their  religion.40 

s6  Papiers  d'etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  vi.  p.  280. 

37  "  Quoiqu'elle  ne  puisse  dire  qu'aucun  des  seigneurs  ne  soit  pas 
bon  catholique,  elle  ne  voit  pourtant  pas  qu'ils  precedent,  dans  les 
matieres   religieuses,  avec   toute   la   chaleur  qui   serait   necessaire." 
Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  240. 

38  Ibid.,  p.  202. 

39  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

4°  "  C'est  une  grande  confusion  de  la  multitude  des  nostres  qui  sont 
icy  fuis  pour  la  religion.  On  les  estime  en  Londres,  Sandvich,  et 
comarque  adjacente,  de  xviij  a  xx  mille  testes."  Letter  of  Assonleville 
to  Granvelle,  Ibid.,  p.  247. 


478       OPPOSITION  TO    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

The  odium  of  this  persecution  all  fell  on  the  head 
of  Granvelle.  He  was  the  tool  of  Spain.  Spain  was 
under  the  yoke  of  the  Inquisition.  Therefore  it  was 
clearly  the  minister's  design  to  establish  the  Spanish 
Inquisition  over  the  Netherlands.  Such  was  the  con 
cise  logic  by  which  the  people  connected  the  name  of 
Granvelle  with  that  of  the  most  dreaded  of  tribunals.41 
He  was  held  responsible  for  the  contrivance  of  the 
most  unpopular  measures  of  government,  as  well  as  for 
their  execution.  A  thousand  extravagant  stories  were 
circulated  both  of  his  private  and  his  political  life, 
which  it  is  probably  doing  no  injustice  to  the  nobles 
to  suppose  they  did  not  take  much  pains  to  correct. 
The  favorite  of  the  prince  is  rarely  the  favorite  of  the 
people.  But  no  minister  had  ever  been  so  unpopular 
as  Granvelle  in  the  Netherlands.  He  was  hated  by  the 
nobles  for  his  sudden  elevation  to  power,  and  for  the 
servile  means,  as  they  thought,  by  which  he  had  risen 
to  it.  The  people  hated  him  because  he  used  that 
power  for  the  ruin  of  their  liberties.  No  administra 
tion — none,  certainly,  if  we  except  that  of  the  iron 
Alva — was  more  odious  to  the  nation. 

Notwithstanding  Granvelle's  constancy,  and  the 
countenance  he  received  from  the  regent  and  a  few 
of  the  leading  councillors,  it  was  hard  to  bear  up 
under  this  load  of  obloquy.  He  would  gladly  have 
had  the  king  return  to  the  country  and  sustain  him 
by  his  presence.  It  is  the  burden  of  his  corre- 

4»  "  Et  qu'aussy  ne  se  feroit  rien  par  le  Cardinal  sans  1'accord  des 
Seigneurs  et  inquisiteurs  d'Espaigne,  dont  necessairement  s'ensuy- 
vroit,  que  tout  se  mettroit  en  la  puissance  et  arbitrage  d'iceulx  Sei 
gneurs  inquisiteurs  d'Espaigne."  Hopper,  Recueil  et  Memorial,  p.  24. 


GRANVELLE'S  UNPOPULARITY.  479 

spondence  at  this  period.  "It  is  a  common  notion 
here,"  he  writes  to  the  secretary  Perez,  "that  they 
are  all  ready  in  Spain  to  sacrifice  the  Low  Coun 
tries.  The  lords  talk  so  freely  that  every  moment 
I  fear  an  insurrection.  .  .  .  For  God's  sake,  persuade 
the  king  to  come,  or  it  will  lie  heavy  on  his  con 
science."42  The  minister  complains  to  the  secretary 
that  he  seems  to  be  entirely  abandoned  by  the  gov 
ernment  at  home.  "It  is  three  months,"  he  writes, 
"since  I  have  received  a  letter  from  the  court.  We 
know  as  little  of  Spain  here  as  of  the  Indies.  Such 
delays  are  dangerous,  and  may  cost  the  king  dear."43 
It  is  clear  his  majesty  exercised  his  royal  prerogative 
of  having  the  correspondence  all  on  one  side.  At 
least  his  own  share  in  it  at  this  period  was  small,  and 
his  letters  were  concise  indeed  in  comparison  with  the 
voluminous  epistles  of  his  minister.  Perhaps  there 
was  some  policy  in  this  silence  of  the  monarch.  His 
opinions,  nay,  his  wishes,  would  have,  to  some  extent, 
the  weight  of  laws.  He  would  not,  therefore,  will 
ingly  commit  himself.  He  preferred  to  conform  to 
his  natural  tendency  to  trust  to  the  course  of  events, 
instead  of  disturbing  them  by  too  precipitate  action. 
The  cognomen  by  which  Philip  is  recognized  on  the 
roll  of  Castilian  princes  is  "the  Prudent." 

v*  "  Que,  pour  1'amour  de  Dieu,  le  Roi  se  dispose  a  venir  aux  Pays- 
Bas !  .  .  .  ce  serait  une  grande  charge  pour  sa  conscience,  que  de  ne 
le  pas  faire."  Correspon dance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  213. 

43  "  Des  choses  de  cette  cour  nous  ne  savons  pas  plus  que  ceux  qui 
sont  aux  Indes.  .  .  .  Le  delai  que  le  Roi  met  a  repondre  aux  lettres 
qu'on  lui  adresse  cause  un  grand  prejudice  aux  affaires;  il  pourra 
couter  cher  un  jour."  Ibid.,  p.  199. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

GRANVELLE    COMPELLED   TO   WITHDRAW. 

League  against  Granvelle. — Margaret  desires  his  Removal. — Philip 
deliberates. — Granvelle  dismissed. — Leaves  the  Netherlands. 

1562-1564. 

WHILE  the  state  of  feeling  towards  Granvelle,  in 
tlie  nation  generally,  was  such  as  is  described  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  the  lords  who  were  in  the  council 
of  state  chafed  more  and  more  under  their  exclusion 
from  business.  As  the  mask  was  now  thrown  away, 
they  no  longer  maintained  the  show  of  deference 
which  they  had  hitherto  paid  to  the  minister.  From 
opposition  to  his  measures,  they  passed  to  irony, 
ridicule,  sarcasm;  till,  finding  that  their  assaults  had 
little  effect  to  disturb  Granvelle's  temper  and  still 
less  to  change  his  policy,  they  grew  at  length  less 
and  less  frequent  in  their  attendance  at  the  council, 
where  they  played  so  insignificant  a  part.  This  was 
a  sore  embarrassment  to  the  regent,  who  needed  the 
countenance  of  the  great  nobles  to  protect  her  with 
the  nation,  in  the  unpopular  measures  in  which  she 
was  involved. 

Even  Granvelle,  with  all  his  equanimity,  considered 

the  crisis  so  grave  as  to  demand  some  concession,  or 

at  least  a  show  of  it,  on  his  own  part,  to  conciliate 

the   good  will   of  his   enemies.     He   authorized   the 

(480) 


LEAGUE  AGAINST  GRANVELLE.  481 

duchess  to  say  that  he  was  perfectly  willing  that  they 
should  be  summoned  to  the  consulta,  and  to  absent 
himself  from  its  meetings, — indeed,  to  resign  the  ad 
ministration  altogether,  provided  the  king  approved 
of  it.1  Whether  Margaret  communicated  this  to  the 
nobles  does  not  appear ;  at  all  events,  as  nothing  came 
of  these  magnanimous  concessions  of  the  minister, 
they  had  no  power  to  soothe  the  irritation  of  his 
enemies.2 

On  the  contrary,  the  disaffected  lords  were  bend 
ing  their  efforts  to  consolidate  their  league,  of  which 
Granvelle,  it  may  be  recollected,  noticed  the  exist 
ence  in  a  letter  of  the  preceding  year.  We  now 
find  the  members  binding  themselves  to  each  other 
by  an  oath  of  secrecy.3  The  persons  who  formed 
this  confederacy  were  the  governors  of  the  provinces, 
the  knights  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  and,  in  short, 
most  of  the  aristocracy  of  any  consideration  in  the 
country.  It  seemed  impossible  that  any  minister 
could  stand  against  such  a  coalition,  resting,  more- 

1  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  pp.  236,  242. 

2  Philip's  answer  to  the  letter  of  the  duchess  in  which  she  stated 
Granvelle's  proposal  was  eminently  characteristic.    If  Margaret  could 
not  do  better,  she  might  enter  into  negotiations  with  the  malecontents 
on  the  subject ;  but  she  should  take  care  to  delay  sending  advices  of 
it  to  Spain ;  and  the  king,  on  his  part,  would  delay  as  long  as  possible 
returning  his  answers.     For  the  measure,  Philip  concludes,  is  equally 
repugnant  to  justice  and  to  the  interests  of  the  crown.     (Correspon 
dance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  237.)      This  was  the  royal  policy  of 
procrastination ! 

3  "  Conclusero  una  lega  contra  '1  Cardenal  p'  detto  a  diffesa  com 
mune  contra  chi  volesse  offendere  alcun  di  loro,  laqual  confortorono 
con  solenniss0  giuramento,  ne  si  curarono  che  se  non  li  particolari 
fossero  secret!  per  all'  hora;  ma  .publicorono  questa  loro  unione,  et 
questa  lega  fatta  contra  il  Cardle."     Relatione  di  Tiepolo,  MS. 

Philip. — VOL.  I. — v  41 


482      GKANVELLE  COMPELLED   TO  WITHDRAW. 

over,  on  the  sympathies  of  the  people.  This  for 
midable  association,  seeing  that  all  attempts  to  work 
on  the  cardinal  were  ineffectual,  resolved  at  length 
to  apply  directly  to  the  king  for  his  removal.  They 
stated  that,  knowing  the  heavy  cares  which  pressed 
on  his  majesty,  they  had  long  dissembled  and  kept 
silence,  rather  than  aggravate  these  cares  by  their 
complaints.  If  they  now  broke  this  silence,  it  was 
from  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  king,  and  to  save  their 
country  from  ruin.  They  enlarged  on  the  lament 
able  condition  of  affairs,  which,  without  specifying 
any  particular  charges,  they  imputed  altogether  to 
the  cardinal,  or  rather  to  the  position  in  which  he 
stood  in  reference  to  the  nation.  It  was  impossible, 
they  said,  that  the  business  of  the  country  could 
prosper,  where  the  minister  who  directed  it  was  held 
in  such  general  detestation  by  the  people.  They 
earnestly  implored  the  king  to  take  immediate  meas 
ures  for  removing  an  evil  which  menaced  the  speedy 
ruin  of  the  land.  And  they  concluded  with  begging 
that  they  might  be  allowed  to  resign  their  seats  in 
the  council  of  state,  where,  in  the  existing  state  of 
affairs,  their  presence  could  be  of  no  service.  This 
letter,  dated  the  eleventh  of  March,  1563,  was  signed, 
on  behalf  of  the  coalition,  by  three  lords  who  had 
places  in  the  council  of  state, — the  prince  of  Orange, 
Count  Egmont,  and  Count  Hoorne.4 

The  last  nobleman  was  of  an  ancient  and  most 
honorable  lineage.  He  held  the  high  office  of  ad 
miral  of  the  Netherlands,  and  had  been  governor 
both  of  Zutphen  and  of  Gueldres.  He  accompanied 

4  Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn.  ii.  pp.  36-38. 


LEAGUE  AGAINST  GRANVELLE.  483 

Philip  to  Spain,  and  during  his  absence  the  province 
of  Gueldres  was  transferred  to  another,  Count  Megen, 
for  which  Hoorne  considered  that  he  was  indebted  to 
the  good  offices  of  the  cardinal.  On  his  return  to  his 
own  country  he  at  once  enrolled  himself  in  the  ranks 
of  the  opposition.  He  was  a  man  of  indisputable 
bravery,  of  a  quick  and  impatient  temper, — one,  on 
the  whole,  who  seems  to  have  been  less  indebted  for 
his  celebrity  to  his  character  than  to  the  peculiar  cir^ 
cumstances  in  which  he  was  placed. 

On  the  day  previous  to  this  despatch  of  the  nobles 
we  find  a  letter  to  the  king  from  Granvelle,  who 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  ignorant  of  what  was 
doing  by  the  lords.  He  had  expostulated  with  them, 
he  tells  Philip,  on  the  disloyalty  of  their  conduct  in 
thus  banding  against  the  government, — a  proceeding 
which  in  other  times  might  have  subjected  them  to  a 
legal  prosecution.5  He  mentions  no  one  by  name  ex 
cept  Egmont,  whom  he  commends  as  more  tractable 
and  open  to  reason  than  his  confederates.  He  was 
led  away  by  evil  counsellors,  and  Granvelle  expresses 
the  hope  that  he  will  one  day  open  his  eyes  to  his 
errors  and  return  to  his  allegiance. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  detestation,  he  goes  on 
to  say,  in  which  the  Spaniards  are  held  by  the  nation. 
The  Spaniards  only,  it  was  everywhere  said,  were  re 
garded  by  the  court  of  Madrid  as  the  lawful  children  ; 
the  Flemings,  as  illegitimate.6  It  was  necessary  to 

5  "  Que  en  otros  tiempos  por  menor  causa  se  havia  mandado  a 
Fiscales  proceder."     Archives  de  la  Maison  d' Orange-Nassau,  torn, 
i.  p.  151. 

6  "  Que  solos  los  de  Espafia  scan  legitimos,  que  son  las  palabras  de 
que  aqui  y  en  Italia  se  usa."     Ibid.,  p.  153. 


484      GRANVELLE  COMPELLED  TO  WITHDRAW. 

do  away  this  impression  ;  to  place  the  Flemings  on 
the  same  footing  with  the  Spaniards ;  to  give  them 
lucrative  appointments,  for  they  greatly  needed  them, 
in  Spain  or  in  Italy;  and  it  might  not  be  amiss  to 
bestow  the  viceroyalty  of  Sicily  on  the  prince  cf 
Orange.  Thus  by  the  same  act  the  politic  minister 
would  both  reward  his  rivals  and  remove  them  from 
the  country.  But  he  greatly  misunderstood  the  char 
acter  of  William  if  he  thought  in  this  way  to  buy  him 
off  from  the  opposition. 

It  was  four  months  before  the  confederates  received 
an  answer;  during  which  time  affairs  continued  to 
wear  the  same  gloomy  aspect  as  before.  At  length 
came  the  long-expected  epistle  from  the  monarch, 
dated  on  the  sixth  of  June.  It  was  a  brief  one. 
Philip  thanked  the  lords  for  their  zeal  and  devotion  to 
his  service.  After  well  considering  the  matter,  how 
ever,  he  had  not  found  any  specific  ground  of  com 
plaint  alleged,  to  account  for  the  advice  given  him  to 
part  with  his  minister.  The  king  hoped  before  long 
to  visit  the  Low  Countries  in  person.  Meanwhile,  he 
should  be  glad  to  see  any  one  of  the  nobles  in  Spain, 
to  learn  from  him  the  whole  state  of  the  affair,  as  it 
was  not  his  wont  to  condemn  his  ministers  without 
knowing  the  grounds  on  which  they  were  accused.7 

The  fact  that  the  lords  had  not  specified  any  par 
ticular  subject  of  complaint  against  the  cardinal  gave 
the  king  an  obvious  advantage  in  the  correspondence. 
It  seemed  to  be  too  much  to  expect  his  immediate  dis- 

7  "  Car  ce  n'est  ma  coustume  de  grever  aucuns  de  mes  ministres 
sans  cause."  Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn.  ii. 
p.  42. 


LEAGUE  AGAINST  GRANVELLE.  485 

missal  of  the  minister  on  the  vague  pretext  of  his  un 
popularity,  without  a  single  instance  of  misconduct 
being  alleged  against  him.  Yet  this  was  the  position 
in  which  the  enemies  of  Granvelle  necessarily  found 
themselves.  The  minister  acted  by  the  orders  of  the 
king.  To  have  assailed  the  minister's  acts,  therefore, 
would  have  been  to  attack  the  king  himself.  Egmont, 
some  time  after  this,  with  even  more  frankness  than 
usual,  is  said  to  have  declared  at  table  to  a  friend  of 
the  cardinal  that  "the  blow  was  aimed  not  so  much  at 
the  minister  as  at  the  monarch."8 

The  discontent  of  the  lords  at  receiving  this  laconic 
epistle  may  be  imagined.  They  were  indignant  that 
so  little  account  should  be  made  of  their  representa 
tions,  and  that  both  they  and  the  country  should  be 
sacrificed  to  the  king's  partiality  for  his  minister.  The 
three  lords  waited  on  the  regent,  and  extorted  from 
her  a  reluctant  consent  to  assemble  the  knights  of  the 
order  and  to  confer  with  them  and  the  other  nobles 
as  to  the  course  to  be  taken. 

It  was  there  decided  that  the  lords  should  address 
a  second  letter,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  body,  to 
Philip,  and  henceforth  should  cease  to  attend  the 
council  of  state.9 

In  this  letter,  which  bears  the  date  of  July  the 
twenty-ninth,  they  express  their  disappointment  that 

8  "  S'estant  le  comte  d' Egmont  advanche  aujourd'huy  huict  jours 
post  focula  dire  a  Hopperus,  avec  lequel  il  fut  bien  deux  heures  en 
devises,  que  ce  n'estoit  point  a  Granvelle  que  Ton  en  vouloit,  mais  au 
Roy,  qui  administre  tres-mal  le  public  et  mesmes  ce  de  la.  Religion, 
comme  Ton  luy  at  assez  adverty."    Morillon,  Archdeacon  of  Mechlin, 
to  Granvelle,  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  247. 

9  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  pp.  256,  258,  259. 

41* 


4S6      GKAXVELLE  COMPELLED  TO  WITHDRAW. 

his  majesty  had  not  come  to  a  more  definite  resolu 
tion,  when  prompt  and  decisive  measures  could  alone 
save  the  country  from  ruin.  They  excuse  themselves 
from  visiting  Spain  in  the  critical  state  of  affairs  at 
home.  At  another  time,  and  for  any  other  purpose, 
did  the  king  desire  it,  they  would  willingly  do  so. 
But  it  was  not  their  design  to  appear  as  accusers  and 
institute  a  process  against  the  minister.  They  had 
hoped  their  own  word  in  such  an  affair  would  have 
sufficed  with  his  majesty.  It  was  not  the  question 
whether  the  minister  was  to  be  condemned,  but 
whether  he  was  to  be  removed  from  an  office  for  which 
he  was  in  no  respect  qualified.10  They  had  hoped 
their  attachment  and  tried  fidelity  to  the  crown  would 
have  made  it  superfluous  for  them  to  go  into  a  specifi 
cation  of  charges.  These,  indeed,  could  be  easily 
made ;  but  the  discontent  and  disorder  which  now 
reigned  throughout  the  country  were  sufficient  evi 
dence  of  the  minister's  incapacity." 

They  stated  that  they  had  acquainted  the  regent 
with  their  intention  to  absent  themselves  in  future 
from  the  council,  where  their  presence  could  be  no 
longer  useful ;  and  they  trusted  this  would  receive  his 
majesty's  sanction.  They  expressed  their  determina- 

»  "  n  n'est  pas  icy  question  de  grever  kdkt  cardinal,  ains  phtstost 
de  le  descharger.  vouc  d'une  charge  laqueDe  non-sc.nMjnuit  1m  est 
pen  convenable  et  com  roc  extraordinaire,  mak  anssi  ne  peult  phis 

_    :        :    ,  ._  _     .i**      ,    nmMJM?n 

-•  **  "  ".     -     •*       "  ..        ~  -     ^      .        .        .    .      ^     -          -    .  .    -  -      ...  .  _  r 

Cbmspoadance  de  Gofllauine  le  Tacituroe,  torn.  fi.  p.  45. 

«  -  Quant  9  a  T  auroit  qoe  le  desordre,  mesconfeentenent  et 
faaoaqoi  se  trowts  a^owdlray  en  TOS  pays  de  par  deca, 

i.    1 1  lr  •ini«irj  1r  rnmlrim  ITT — "-j—  p-f — ****  -~ 

r*r  ibid^infc 


LEAGUE  AGAINST  GRANVELLE.  487 

tion  loyally  and  truly  to  .discharge  every  trust  reposed 
in  them  by  the  government ;  and  they  concluded  by 
apologizing  for  the  homely  language  of  their  epistle, — 
for  they  were  no  haranguers  or  orators,  but  men  accus 
tomed  to  act  rather  than  to  talk,  as  was  suited  to  per 
sons  of  their  quality.12  This  last  shaft  was  doubtless 
aimed  at  the  cardinal.  The  letter  was  signed  by  the 
same  triumvirate  as  the  former.  The  abstract  here 
given  does  no  justice  to  the  document,  which  is  of 
considerable  length,  and  carefully  written.  The  lan 
guage  is  that  of  men  who  to  the  habitual  exercise  of 
authority  united  a  feeling  of  self-respect,  which  chal 
lenged  the  respect  of  their  opponents.  Such  were  not 
the  men  to  be  cajoled  or  easily  intimidated.  It  was 
the  first  time  that  Philip  had  been  addressed  in  this 
lofty  tone  by  his  great  vassals.  It  should  have  opened 
his  eyes  to  the  condition  and  the  character  of  his  sub 
jects  in  the  Netherlands. 

The  coalition  drew  up,  at  the  same  time,  an  elaborate 
"remonstrance,"  which  they  presented  to  Margaret. 
In  it  they  set  forth  the  various  disorders  of  the  country, 
especially  those  growing  out  of  the  state  of  religion  and 
the  embarrassment  of  the  finances.  The  only  remedy 
for  these  evils  is  to  be  found  in  a  meeting  of  the  states- 
general.  The  king's  prohibition  of  this  measure  must 
have  proceeded,  no  doubt,  from  the  evil  counsels  of 
persons  hostile  to  the  true  interests  of  the  nation.  As 
their  services  can  be  of  little  use  while  they  are  thus 

12  "  Que  ne  sommes  point  de  nature  grans  orateurs  ou  harangueurs, 
et  plus  accoustumez  a  bien  faire  qu'a  bien  dire,  comme  aussy  il  est 
mieulx  scant  a  gens  de  nostre  qualite."  Correspondance  de  Guillaume 
le  Taciturne,  torn.  ii.  p.  47. 


488      GKANVELLE  COMPELLED  TO  WITHDRAW. 

debarred  from  a  resort  to  their  true  and  only  remedy 
in  their  embarrassments,  they  trust  the  regent  will  not 
take  it  amiss  that,  so  long  as  the  present  policy  is  pur 
sued,  they  decline  to  take  their  seats  in  the  council  of 
state,  to  be  merely  shadows  there,  as  they  have  been 
for  the  last  four  years.13 

From  this  period  the  malecontent  lords  no  more 
appeared  in  council.  The  perplexity  of  Margaret  was 
great.  Thus  abandoned  by  the  nobles  in  whom  the 
country  had  the  greatest  confidence,  she  was  left  alone, 
as  it  were,  with  the  man  whom  the  country  held  in 
the  greatest  abhorrence.  She  had  long  seen  with  alarm 
the  storm  gathering  round  the  devoted  head  of  the 
minister.  To  attempt  alone  to  uphold  his  falling  for 
tunes  would  be  probably  to  bury  herself  in  their  ruins. 
In  her  extremity,  she  appealed  to  the  confederates, 
and,  since  she  could  not  divide  them,  endeavored  to 
divert  them  from  their  opposition.  They,  on  the  other 
hand,  besought  the  regent  no  longer  to  connect  her 
self  with  the  desperate  cause  of  a  minister  so  odious 
to  the  country.  Possibly  they  infused  into  her  mind 
some  suspicions  of  the  subordinate  part  she  was  made 
to  play,  through  the  overweening  ambition  of  the  car 
dinal.  At  all  events,  an  obvious  change  took  place  in 
her  conduct,  and  while  she  deferred  less  and  less  to 
Granvelle,  she  entered  into  more  friendly  relations 
with  his  enemies.  This  was  especially  the  case  with 
Egmont,  whose  frank  and  courteous  bearing  and  loyal 
disposition  seem  to  have  won  greatly  on  the  esteem 
of  the  duchess. 

*3  "  Faisans  cesser  1'umbre  dont  avons  servy  en  iceluy  quatre  ans." 
Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn.  ii.  p.  50. 


MARGARET  DESIRES  HIS  REMOVAL.       489 

Satisfied,  at  last,  that  it  would  be  impracticable  to 
maintain  the  government  much  longer  on  its  present 
basis,  Margaret  resolved  to  write  to  her  brother  on  the 
subject,  and  at  the  same  time  to  send  her  confidential 
secretary,  Armenteros,  to  Spain,  to  acquaint  the  king 
with  the  precise  state  of  affairs  in  the  Netherlands.14 

After  enlarging  on  the  disorders  and  difficulties  of 
the  country,  the  duchess  came  to  the  quarrel  between 
the  cardinal  and  the  nobles.  She  had  made  every 
effort  to  reconcile  the  parties;  but  that  was  impos 
sible.  She  was  fully  sensible  of  the  merits  of  Gran- 
velle,  his  high  capacity,  his  experience  in  public 
affairs,  his  devotion  to  the  interests  both  of  the 
king  and  of  religion.15  But,  on  the  other  hand,  to 
maintain  him  in  the  Netherlands,  in  opposition  to 
the  will  of  the  nobles,  was  to  expose  the  country  not 
merely  to  great  embarrassments,  but  to  the  danger 
of  insurrection.16  The  obligations  of  the  high  place 
which  she  occupied  compelled  her  to  lay  the  true 
state  of  the  case  before  the  king,  and  he  would  de 
termine  the  course  to  be  pursued.  With  this  letter, 
bearing  the  date  of  August  twelfth,  and  fortified  with 
ample  instructions  from  the  duchess,  Armenteros  was 
forthwith  despatched  on  his  mission  to  Spain. 

J4  Memoires  de  Granvelle,  torn.  ii.  p.  39,  et  seq. — Correspondance 
de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  256. 

is  "  Elle  connait  tout  le  merite  du  cardinal,  sa  haute  capacite,  son 
experience  des  affaires  d'Etat,  le  zele  et  le  devouement  qu'il  montre 
pour  le  service  de  Dieu  et  du  Roi."  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II., 
torn.  i.  p.  266. 

16  "  D'un  autre  cote,  elle  reconnait  que  vouloir  le  maintenir  aux 
Pays-Bas,  contre  le  gre  des  seigneurs,  pourrait  entrainer  de  grands 
inconvenients,  et  meme  le  soulevement  du  pays."     Ibid.,  ubi  supra, 
v* 


49o      GRANVELLE  COMPELLED  TO  WITHDRAW. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  state  of  feeling  in  the 
cabinet  of  Brussels  was  known,  or  at  least  surmised, 
throughout  the  country.  It  was  the  interest  of  some 
of  the  parties  that  it  should  not  be  kept  secret.  The 
cardinal,  thus  abandoned  by  his  friends,  became  a 
more  conspicuous  mark  for  the  shafts  of  his  enemies. 
Libels,  satires,  pasquinades,  were  launched  ag.iinst 
him  from  every  quarter.  Such  fugitive  pieces,  like 
the  insect  which  dies  when  it  has  left  its  sting,  usu 
ally  perish  with  the  occasion  that  gives  them  birth. 
But  some  have  survived  to  the  present  day,  or  at 
least  were  in  existence  at  the  close  of  the  last  cen 
tury,  and  are  much  commended  by  a  critic  for  the 
merits  of  their  literary  execution.17 

It  was  the  custom,  at  the  period  of  our  narrative, 
for  the  young  people  to  meet  in  the  towns  and 
villages  and  celebrate  what  were  called  "academic 
games,"  consisting  of  rhetorical  discussions  on  the 
various  topics  of  the  day,  sometimes  of  a  theological 
or  a  political  character.  Public  affairs  furnished  a 
fruitful  theme  at  this  crisis ;  and  the  cardinal,  in 
particular,  was  often  roughly  handled.  It  was  in 
vain  the  government  tried  to  curb  this  license.  It 
only  served  to  stimulate  the  disputants  to  new  displays 
of  raillery  and  ridicule.*8 

Granvelle,  it  will  be  readily  believed,  was  not  slow 
to  perceive  his  loss  of  credit  with  the  regent,  and  the 
more  intimate  relations  into  which  she  had  entered 
with  his  enemies.  But,  whatever  he  may  have  felt, 

*7  Reiffenberg,  Correspondance  de  Marguerite  d'Autriche,  p.  26, 
note. 

18  Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  58. 


MARGARET  DESIRES  HIS  REMOVAL.      49! 

he  was  too  proud  or  too  politic  to  betray  his  morti 
fication  to  the  duchess.  Thus  discredited  by  all  but 
an  insignificant  party,  who  were  branded  as  the  "Car 
dinalists,"  losing  influence  daily  with  the  regent,  at 
open  war  with  the  nobles,  and  hated  by  the  people, 
never  was  there  a  minister  in  so  forlorn  a  situation, 
or  one  who  was  able  to  maintain  his  post  a  day 
in  such  circumstances.  Yet  Granvelle  did  not  lose 
heart;  as  others  failed  him,  he  relied  the  more  on 
himself;  and  the  courage  which  he  displayed,  when 
thus  left  alone,  as  it  were,  to  face  the  anger  of  the 
nation,  might  have  well  commanded  the  respect  of 
his  enemies.  He  made  no  mean  concession  to  se 
cure  the  support  of  the  nobles  or  to  recover  the  favor 
of  the  regent.  He  did  not  shrink  from  the  dangers 
or  the  responsibilities  of  his  station;  though  the 
latter,  at  least,  bore  heavily  on  him.  Speaking  of 
the  incessant  pressure  of  his  cares,  he  writes  to  his 
correspondent,  Perez,  "  My  hairs  have  turned  so 
white  you  would  not  recognize  me."19  He  was  then 
but  forty-six.  On  one  occasion,  indeed,  we  do  find 
him  telling  the  king  that  "if  his  majesty  does  not 
soon  come  to  the  Netherlands  he  must  withdraw  from 
them."30  This  seems  to  have  been  a  sudden  burst 
of  feeling,  as  it  was  a  solitary  one,  forced  from  him 
by  the  extremity  of  his  situation.  It  was  much  more 
in  character  that  he  wrote  afterwards  to  the  secretary 
Perez,  "I  am  so  beset  with  dangers  on  every  side 
that  most  people  give  me  up  for  lost.  But  I  mean 

*9  "  Vous  ne  me  reconnaitriez  plus,  tant  nies  cheveux  ont  blanchi." 
Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  268. 
30  Ibid.,     .  274. 


492 


GRANVELLE  COMPELLED  TO  WITHDRAW. 


to  live  as  long,  by  the  grace  of  God,  as  I  can ;  and 
if  they  do  take  away  my  life,  I  trust  they  will  not 
gain  everything  for  all  that."21  He  nowhere  inti 
mates  a  wish  to  be  recalled.  Nor  would  his  am 
bition  allow  him  to  resign  the  helm ;  but  the  fiercer 
the  tempest  raged,  the  more  closely  did  he  cling  to 
the  wreck  of  his  fortunes. 

The  arrival  of  Armenteros  with  the  'despatches, 
and  the  tidings  that  he  brought,  caused  a  great  sen 
sation  in  the  court  of  Madrid.  "  We  are  on  the  eve 
of  a  terrible  conflagration,"  writes  one  of  the  secre 
taries  of  Philip;  "and  they  greatly  err  who  think  it 
will  pass  away  as  formerly."  He  expresses  the  wish 
that  Granvelle  would  retire  from  the  country,  where, 
he  predicts,  they  would  soon  wish  his  return.  "But 
ambition,"  he  adds,  "and  the  point  of  honor,  are 
alike  opposed  to  this.  Nor  does  the  king  desire  it."  22 

Yet  it  was  not  easy  to  say  what  the  king  did  desire, 
— certainly  not  what  course  he  would  pursue.  He  felt 
a  natural  reluctance  to  abandon  the  minister  whose 
greatest  error  seemed  to  be  that  of  too  implicit  an 
obedience  to  his  master's  commands.  He  declared 
he  would  rather  risk  the  loss  of  the  Netherlands  than 
abandon  him.23  Yet  how  was  that  minister  to  be 

81  "  Moi,  qui  ne  suis  qu'un  ver  de  terre,  je  suis  menace  de  tant  de 
c&te"s,  que  beaucoup  doivent  me  tenir  deja  pour  inort ;  mais  je  tacherai, 
avec  1'aide  de  Dieu,  de  vivre  autant  que  possible,  et  si  1'on  me  tue, 
j'espere  qu'on  n'aura  pas  gagne  tout  par  la."  Correspon dance  de 
Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  284. 

22  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  190. 

«3  "  Habldndole  yo  en  ello,"  writes  the  secretary  Perez  to  Granvelle, 
"  como  era  razon,  me  respondio  que  por  su  fee  dntes  aventuraria  d. 
perder  essos  estados  que  hazer  esse  agravio  &  V.  S.  en  lo  qual  conos- 


PHILIP  DELIBERATES.  493 

maintained  in  his  place,  in  opposition  to  the  will  of 
the  nation  ?  In  this  perplexity,  Philip  applied  for 
counsel  to  the  man  in  whom  he  most  confided, — the 
duke  of  Alva;  the  very  worst  counsellor  possible  in  the 
present  emergency. 

The  duke's  answer  was  eminently  characteristic  of 
the  man.  "When  I  read  the  letters  of  these  lords," 
he  says,  "lam  so  filled  with  rage  that,  did  I  not 
make  an  effort  to  suppress  it,  my  language  would  appear 
to  you  that  of  a  madman."  24  After  this  temperate  ex 
ordium,  he  recommends  the  king  on  no  account  to 
remove  Granvelle  from  the  administration  of  the  Neth 
erlands.  "It  is  a  thing  of  course,"  he  says,  "that 
the  cardinal  should  be  the  first  victim.  A  rebellion 
against  the  prince  naturally  begins  with  an  attack  on 
his  ministers.  It  would  be  better,"  he  continues,  "if 
all  could  be  brought  at  once  to  summary  justice.  Since 
that  cannot  be,  it  may  be  best  to  divide  the  nobles;  to 
win  over  Egmont  and  those  who  follow  him  by  favors; 
to  show  displeasure  to  those  who  are  the  least  offenders. 
For  the  greater  ones,  who  deserve  to  lose  their  heads, 
your  majesty  will  do  well  to  dissemble,  until  you  can 
give  them  their  deserts."25 

Part  of  this  advice  the  king  accepted  ;  for  to  dis 
semble  did  no  violence  to  his  nature.  But  the  more 

cerd  la  gran  voluntad  que  le  tiene."  Papiers  d'etat  de  Granvelle, 
torn.  vii.  p.  102. 

24  "  Cada  vez  que  veo  los  despachos  de  aquellos  tres  senores  de 
Flandes  me  mueven  la  colera  de  manera  que,  sino  procurasse  mucho 
templarla,  creo  parecia  a  V.  Magd  mi  opinion  de  hombre  frenetico." 
Carta  del  Duque  de  Alba  al  Rey,  a  21  de  Octobre  de  1563,  MS. 

25  "  X  los  que  destos  meriten  quitenles  las  cave9as,  hasta  poder  lo 
hacer,  dissimular  con  ellos."     Ibid. 

Philip.— VOL.  I.  42 


494      GRANVELLE  COMPELLED  TO  WITHDRAW. 

he  reflected  on  the  matter,  the  more  he  was  satisfied 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  retain  the  obnoxious 
minister  in  his  place.  Yet  when  he  had  come  to  this 
decision  he  still  shrank  from  announcing  it.  Months 
passed,  and  yet  Armenteros,  who  was  to  carry  back 
the  royal  despatches,  was  still  detained  at  Madrid.  It 
seemed  as  if  Philip  here,  as  on  other  occasions  of  less 
moment,  was  prepared  to  leave  events  to  take  their 
own  course,  rather  than  direct  them  himself. 

Early  in  January,  1564,  the  duchess  of  Parma  ad 
monished  her  brother  that  the  lords  chafed  much 
under  his  long  silence.  It  was  a  common  opinion, 
she  said,  that  he  cared  little  for  Flanders,  and  that  he 
was  under  the  influence  of  evil  counsellors,  who  would 
persuade  him  to  deal  with  the  country  as  a  conquered 
province.  She  besought  him  to  answer  the  letter  of 
the  nobles,  and  especially  to  write  in  affectionate  terms 
to  Count  Egmont,  who  well  deserved  this  for  the  zeal 
he  had  always  shown  for  his  sovereign's  interests.26 

One  is  struck  with  the  tone  in  which  the  regent  here 
speaks  of  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  opposition,  so  little 
in  unison  with  her  former  language.  It  shows  how 
completely  she  was  now  under  their  influence.  In 
truth,  however,  we  see  constantly,  both  in  her  letters 
and  those  of  the  cardinal,  a  more  friendly  tone  of 
feeling  towards  Egmont  than  to  either  of  his  associates. 
On  the  score  of  orthodoxy  in  matters  of  religion  he 

26  "  Comme  je  1'ai  toujours  trouve  plein  d'empressement  et  de  zele 
pour  tout  ce  qui  touche  le  service  de  V.  M.  et  1'avantage  du  pays,  je 
supplie  V.  M.  de  faire  au  comte  d' Egmont  une  reponse  affectueuse, 
afin  qu'il  ne  desespere  pas  de  sa  bonte."  Correspondance  de  Philippe 
II.,  torn.  i.  p.  281. 


PHILIP  DELIBERATES. 


495 


was  unimpeachable.  His  cordial  manners,  his  free  and 
genial  temper,  secured  the  sympathy  of  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact.  It  was  a  common  opinion  that  it 
would  not  be  difficult  to  detach  him  from  the  party  of 
malecontents  with  whom  his  lot  was  cast.  Such  were 
not  the  notions  entertained  of  the  prince  of  Orange. 

In  a  letter  from  Granvelle  to  Philip,  without  a  date, 
but  written  perhaps  about  this  period,27  we  have  por 
traits,  or  rather  outlines,  of  the  two  great  leaders  of 
the  opposition,  touched  with  a  masterly  hand.  Eg- 
mont  he  describes  as  firm  in  his  faith,  loyally  disposed, 
but  under  the  evil  influence  of  William.  It  would  not 
be  difficult  to  win  him  over  by  flattery  and  favors.28 
The  prince,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  cunning  and  dan 
gerous  enemy,  of  profound  views,  boundless  ambition, 
difficult  to  change,  and  impossible  to  control.29  In 
the  latter  character  we  see  the  true  leader  of  the  revo 
lution. 

Disgusted  with  the  indifference  of  the  king,  shown 
in  his  long-protracted  silence,  the  nobles,  notwith 
standing  the  regent's  remonstrances,  sent  orders  to 
their  courier,  who  had  been  waiting  in  Madrid  for  the 

27  The  letter — found  among  the  MSS.  at  Besan9on — is  given  by 
Dom   Prosper  Levesque  in  his  life  of  the  cardinal.     (Memoires  de 
Granvelle,  torn.  ii.  p.  52.)     The  worthy  Benedictine  assures  us,  in  his 
preface,  that  he  has  always  given  the  text  of  Granvelle's  correspond 
ence  exactly  as  he  found  it ;    an  assurance  to  which  few  will  give 
implicit  credit  who  have  read  this  letter,  which  bears  the  marks  of  the 
reviser's  hand  in  every  sentence. 

28  Memoires  de  Granvelle,  torn.  ii.  p.  55. 

29  "  Le  prince  d'Orange  est  un  homme  dangereux,  fin,  ruse,  affectant 
de  soutenir  le  peuple.  .  .  .  Je  pense  qu'un  pareil  genie  qui  a  des  vues 
profondes  est  fort  difficile  a  menager,  et  qu'il  n'est  gueres  possible  de 
le  faire  changer."     Ibid.,  pp.  53,  54. 


496      GRANVELLE  COMPELLED  TO  WITHDRAW. 

royal  despatches,  to  wait  no  longer,  but  return  without 
them  to  the  Netherlands.30  Fortunately,  Philip  now 
moved,  and  at  the  close  of  January,  1564,  sent  back 
Armenteros  with  his  instructions  to  Brussels.  The 
most  important  of  them  was  a  letter  of  dismissal  to  the 
cardinal  himself.  It  was  very  short.  "On  consider 
ing  what  you  write,"  said  the  king,  "I  deem  it  best 
that  you  should  leave  the  Low  Countries  for  some 
days,  and  go  to  Burgundy  to  see  your  mother,  with 
the  consent  of  the  duchess  of  Parma.  In  this  way, 
both  my  authority  and  your  own  reputation  will  be 
preserved."31 

It  -has  been  a  matter  of  dispute  how  far  the  resigna 
tion  of  the  cardinal  was  voluntary.  The  recent  dis 
covery  of  this  letter  of  Philip  determines  that  ques 
tion.32  It  was  by  command  of  the  sovereign.  Yet 

3°  "  Causant  1'autre  jour  avec  elle,  le  comte  d'Egmont  lui  montra 
un  grand  mecontentement  de  ce  que  le  Roi  n'avait  daigne  faire  un 
seul  mot  de  reponse  ni  a  lui,  ni  aux  autres.  II  dit  que,  voyant  cela, 
ils  etaient  decides  a  ordonner  a  leur  courrier  qu'il  revint,  sans  attendre 
davantage."  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  283. 

31  "  II  a  pense,  d'apres  ce  que  le  cardinal  lui  a  ecrit,  qu'il  serait  tres 
a  propos  qu'il  allat  voir  sa  mere,  avec  la  permission  de  la  duchesse  de 
Parme.    De  cette  maniere,  1'autorite  du  Roi  et  la  reputation  du  cardi 
nal  seront  sauves."     Ibid.,  p.  285. 

32  That  indefatigable  laborer  in  the  mine   of  MSS.,  M.  Gachnrd, 
obtained  some  clue  to  the  existence  of  such  a  letter  in  the  Archives 
of  Simancas.     For  two  months  it  eluded  his  researches,  when   in  a 
happy  hour  he  stumbled  on  this  pearl  of  price.     The  reader  may 
share  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Belgian  scholar:  "  Je  redoublai  d'atten- 
tion ;  et  enfin,  apres  deux  mois  de  travail,  je  decouvris,  sur  un  petit 
chiffon  de  papier,  la  minute  de  la  fameuse  lettre  dont  faisait  mention 
la  duchesse  de  Parme :  elle  avait  ete  classee,  par  une  me'prise  de  je  ne 
sais  quel.  official,  avec  les  papiers  de  1'annee  1562.     On  lisait  en  tete: 
De  mano  del  Key  ;  secreta.   Vous  comprendrez,  monsieur  le  Ministry 


PHILIP'S  LETTER    TO    GRANVELLE. 


497 


that  command  was  extorted  by  necessity,  and  so  given 
as  best  to  save  the  feelings  and  the  credit  of  the  minis 
ter.  Neither  party  anticipated  that  Granvelle's  absence 
would  continue  for  a  long  time,  much  less  that  his  dis 
missal  was  final.  Even  when  inditing  the  letter  to  the 
cardinal,  Philip  cherished  the  hope  that  the  necessity 
for  his  departure  might  be  avoided  altogether.  This 
appears  from  the  despatches  sent  at  the  same  time  to 
the  regent. 

Shortly  after  his  note  to  Granvelle,  on  the  nine 
teenth  of  February,  Philip  wrote  an  answer  to  the 
lords  in  all  the  tone  of  offended  majesty.  .He  ex 
pressed  his  astonishment  that  they  should  have  been 
led  by  any  motive  whatever  to  vacate  their  seats  at 
the  council,  where  he  had  placed  them.33  They  would 
not  fail  to  return  there  at  once,  and  show  that  they 
preferred  the  public  weal  to  all  private  considerations.34 
As  for  the  removal  of  the  minister,  since  they  had  not 
been  pleased  to  specify  any  charges  against  him,  the 
king  would  deliberate  further  before  deciding  on  the 
matter.  Thus,  three  weeks  after  Philip  had  given  the 

la  joie  que  me  fit  eprouver  cette  decouverte  :  ce  sont  Ik  des  jouissances 
qui  dedo'Mnagent  de  bien  des  fatigues,  de  bien  des  ennuis!"  Rap 
port  k  M.  le  Ministre  de  1'InteYieur,  Ibid.,  p.  clxxxv/* 

33  "  M'esbayz   bien  que,  pour  chose   quelconque,  vous   ayez  de- 
laisse  d'entrer  au  conseil  ou  je  vous  avois  laisse."     Correspondance 
de  Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn.  ii.  p.  67. 

34  "  Ne  faillez  d'y  rentrer,  et  monstrer  de  combien  vous  estimez  plus 
mon  service  et  le  bien  de  mes  pays  de  dela,  que  autre  particularity 
quelconque."     Ibid.,  p.  68. 


*  [Philip's  letter,  of  which  only  the  "  minute"  is  cited  by  Prescott, 
has  been  printed  in  the  twelfth  volume  of  the  "Bulletins"  of  the 
Academy  of  Brussels. — ED.] 

42* 


498      GRANVELLE  COMPELLED  TO  WITHDRAW. 

cardinal  his  dismissal,  did  he  write  to  his  enemies  as 
if  the  matter  were  still  in  abeyance;  hoping,  it  would 
seem,  by  the  haughty  tone  of  authority,  to  rebuke  the 
spirit  of  the  refractory  nobles  and  intimidate  them 
into  a  compliance  with  his  commands.  Should  this 
policy  succeed,  the  cardinal  might  still  hold  the  helm 
of  government.33 

But  Philip  had  not  yet  learned  that  he  was  dealing 
with  men  who  had  little  of  that  spirit  of  subserviency 
to  which  he  was  accustomed  in  his  Castilian  vassals. 
The  peremptory  tone  of  his  letter  fired  the  blood  of 
the  Flemish  lords,  who  at  once  waited  on  the  regent 
and  announced  their  purpose  not  to  re-enter  the  coun 
cil.  The  affair  was  not  likely  to  end  here  ;  and  Mar 
garet  saw  with  alarm  the  commotion  that  would  be 
raised  when  the  letter  of  the  king  should  be  laid 
before  the  whole  body  of  the  nobles.36  Fearing  some 
rash  step,  difficult  to  be  retrieved,  she  resolved  either 
that  the  cardinal  should  announce  his  intended  depart 
ure  or  that  she  would  do  so  for  him.  Philip's  experi- 

35  Abundant  evidence  of  Philip's  intentions  is  afforded  by  his  de 
spatches  to  Margaret,  together  with  two  letters  which  they  enclosed  to 
Egmont.  These  letters  were  of  directly  opposite  tenor ;  one  dispens 
ing  with  Egmont's  presence  at  Madrid, — which  had  been  talked  of, — 
the  other  inviting  him  there.  Margaret  was  to  give  the  one  which, 
under  the  circumstances,  she  thought  expedient.  The  duchess  was 
greatly  distressed  by  her  brother's  manoeuvring.  She  saw  that  the 
course  she  must  pursue  was  not  the  course  which  he  would  prefer. 
Philip  did  not  understand  her  countrymen  so  well  as  she  did. 

s6  "  En  effet,  le  prince  d'Orange  et  le  comte  d'Egmont,  les  seuls  qui 
se  trouvassent  a  Bruxelles,  montrerent  tant  de  tristesse  et  de  me"con- 
tentement  de  la  courte  et  seche  reponse  du  Roi,  qu'il  etait  a  craindre 
qu'apres  qu'elle  aurait  e"te  communique'e  aux  autres  seigneurs,  il  ne 
fut  pris  quelque  resolution  contraire  au  service  du  Roi."  Correspon- 
dance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  294. 


HIS  DEPARTURE   ANNOUNCED. 


499 


ment  had  failed.  Nothing,  therefore,  remained  but 
for  the  minister  publicly  to  declare  that,  as  his  brother, 
the  late  envoy  to  France,  had  returned  to  Brussels,  he 
had  obtained  permission  from  the  regent  to  accompany 
him  on  a  visit  to  their  aged  mother,  whom  Granvelle 
had  not  seen  for  fourteen  years.37 

The  news  of  the  minister's  resignation  and  speedy 
departure  spread  like  wildfire  over  the  country.  The 
joy  was  universal;  and  the  wits  of  the  time  redoubled 
their  activity,  assailing  the  fallen  minister  with  libels, 
lampoons,  and  caricatures,  without  end.  One  of 
these  caricatures,  thrust  into  his  own  hand  under 
the  pretence  of  its  being  a  petition,  represented  him 
as  hatching  a  brood  of  young  bishops,  who  were 
crawling  out  of  their  shells.  Hovering  above  might 
be  seen  the  figure  of  the  Devil;  while  these  words 
were  profanely  made  to  issue  from  his  mouth:  "This 
is  my  son  ;  hear  ye  him  !" 38 

37  "  Con  la  venida  de  Mons.  de  Chantonnay,  mi  hermano,  a  Bru- 
xelles,  y  su  determinacion  de  encaminarse  a  estas  partes,  me  parescio 
tomar  color  de  venir  hazia  aca,  donde  no  havia  estado  en  19  anos,  y 
ver  a  madama  de  Granvella,  mi  madre,  que  ha  14  que  no  la  havia 
visto."     Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  298. — Granvelle 
seems  to  have  fondly  trusted  that  no  one  but  Margaret  was  privy  to 
the  existence  of  the  royal  letter, — "secret,  and  written  with  the  king's 
own  hand."     So  he  speaks  of  his  departure  in  his  various  letters  as  a 
spontaneous  movement  to  see  his  venerable  parent.     The  secretary 
Perez  must  have  smiled  as  he  read  one  of  these  letters  to  himself,  since 
an  abstract  of  the  royal  despatch  appears  in  his  own  handwriting. 
The  Flemish  nobles  also —probably  through  the  regent's  secretary, 
Armenteros — appear  to  have  been  possessed  of  the  true  state  of  the 
case.     It  was  too  good  a  thing  to  be  kept  secret. 

38  Schiller,  Abfall  der  Niederlande,  p.  147.— Among  other  freaks  was 
that  of  a  masquerade,  at  which  a  devil  was  seen  pursuing  a  cardinal 
with  a  scourge  of  foxes'  tails :"  Deinde  sequebatur  diabolus,  equum 


5°° 


GRANVELLE  COMPELLED   TO  WITHDRAW. 


It  was  at  this  time  that,  at  a  banquet  at  which 
many  of  the  Flemish  nobles  were  present,  the  talk 
fell  on  the  expensive  habits  of  the  aristocracy,  es 
pecially  as  shown  in  the  number  and  dress  of  their 
domestics.  It  was  the  custom  for  them  to  wear 
showy  and  very  costly  liveries,  intimating  by  the 
colors  the  family  to  which  they  belonged.  Gran- 
velle  had  set  an  example  of  this  kind  of  ostentation. 
It  was  proposed  to  regulate  their  apparel  by  a  more 
modest  and  uniform  standard.  The  lot  fell  on  Eg- 
mont  to  devise  some  suitable  livery,  of  the  simple 
kind  used  by  the  Germans.  He  proposed  a  dark-gray 
habit,  which,  instead  of  the  aiguillettes  commonly 
suspended  from  the  shoulders,  should  have  flat  pieces 
of  cloth,  embroidered  with  the  figure  of  a  head  and 
a  fool's  cap.  The  head  was  made  marvellously  like 
that  of  the  cardinal,  and  the  cap,  being  red,  was 
thought  to  bear  much  resemblance  to  a  cardinal's 
hat.  This  was  enough.  The  dress  was  received 
with  acclamation.  The  nobles  instantly  clad  their 
retainers  in  the  new  livery,  which  had  the  advantage 
of  greater  economy.  It  became  the  badge  of  party. 
The  tailors  of  Brussels  could  not  find  time  to  supply 
their  customers.  Instead  of  being  confined  to  Gran- 
velle,  the  heads  occasionally  bore  the  features  of 
Aerschot,  Aremberg,  or  Viglius,  the  cardinal's  friends. 

dicti  cardinalis  caudis  vulpinis  fustigans,  magna  cum  totius  populi 
admiratione  et  scandalo."  (Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  viii.  p. 
77.)  The  fox's  tail  was  a  punning  allusion  to  Renard,  who  took  a 
most  active  and  venomous  part  in  the  paper  war  that  opened  the  revo 
lution.  Renard,  it  may  be  remembered,  was  the  imperial  minister  to 
England  in  Queen  Mary's  time.  He  was  the  implacable  enemy  of 
Granvelle,  who  had  once  been  his  benefactor. 


HE   LEAVES   THE  NETHERLANDS.         501 

The  duchess  at  first  laughed  at  the  jest,  and  even 
sent  some  specimens  of  the  embroidery  to  Philip. 
But  Granvelle  looked  more  gravely  on  the  matter, 
declaring  it  an  insult  to  the  government,  and  the 
king  interfered  to  have  the  device  given  up.  This 
was  not  easy,  from  the  extent  to  which  it  had  been 
adopted.  But  Margaret  at  length  succeeded  in  per 
suading  the  lords  to  take  another,  not  personal  in  its 
nature.  The  substitute  was  a  sheaf  of  arrows.  Even 
this  was  found  to  have  an  offensive  application,  as  it 
intimated  the  league  of  the  nobles.  It  was  the  origin, 
it  is  said,  of  the  device  afterwards  assumed  by  the 
Seven  United  Provinces.39 

On  the  thirteenth  of  March,  1564,  Granvelle  quitted 
Brussels, — never  to  return.40  "The  joy  of  the  nobles 
at  his  departure,"  writes  one  of  the  privy  council, 
"was  excessive.  They  seemed  like  boys  let  loose 
from  school."41  The  three  lords,  members  of  the 

39  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  pp.  161-164. — Vander  Haer,  De  Initiis 
Tumultuum  Belgicorum,  p.  166. — Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays- 
Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  53. — Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  pp.  294, 

295- 

4°  The  date  is  given  by  the  prince  of  Orange  in  a  letter  to  the  land 
grave  of  Hesse,  written  a  fortnight  after  the  cardinal's  departure. 
(Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  226.)  This  fact, 
public  and  notorious  as  it  was,  is  nevertheless  told  with  the  greatest 
discrepancy  of  dates.  Hopper,  one  of  Granvelle's  own  friends,  fixes 
the  date  of  his  departure  at  the  latter  end  of  May.  (Recueil  et  Me 
morial,  p.  36.)  Such  discrepancies  will  not  seem  strange  to  the  student 
of  history. 

41  "  Ejus  inimici,  qui  in  senatu  erant,  non  aliter  exultavere  quam 
pueri  abeunte  ludimagistro."  Vita  Viglii,  p.  38. — Hoogstraten  and 
Brederode  indulged  their  wild  humor,-as  they  saw  the  cardinal  leav 
ing  Brussels,  by  mounting  a  horse, — one  in  the  saddle,  the  other  en 
croupe,— and  in  this  way,  muffled  in  their  cloaks,  accompanying  the 


502 


GRANVELLE  COMPELLED   TO  WITHDRA  W. 


council  of  state,  in  a  note  to  the  duchess,  declared 
that  they  were  ready  to  resume  their  places  at  the 
board ;  with  the  understanding,  however,  that  they 
should  retire  whenever  the  minister  returned.42  Gran- 
velle  had  given  out  that  his  absence  would  be  of  no 
long  duration.  The  regent  wrote  to  her  brother  in 
warm  commendation  of  the  lords.  It  would  not  do 
for  Granvelle  ever  to  return.  She  was  assured  by  the 
nobles,  if  he  did  return,  he  would  risk  the  loss  of  his 
life,  and  the  king  the  loss  of  the  Netherlands.43 

The  three  lords  wrote  each  to  Philip,  informing 
him  that  they  had  re-entered  the  council,  and  making 
the  most  earnest  protestations  of  loyalty.  Philip,  on 
his  part,  graciously  replied  to  each,  and  in  particular 
to  the  prince  of  Orange,  who  had  intimated  that 
slanderous  reports  respecting  himself  had  found  their 
way  to  the  royal  ear.  The  king  declared  "  he  never 
could  doubt  for  a  moment  that  the  prince  would  con 
tinue  to  show  the  same  zeal  in  his  service  that  he 
had  always  done ;  and  that  no  one  should  be  allowed 
to  cast  a  reproach  on  a  person  of  his  quality,  and 
one  whom  Philip  knew  so  thoroughly."44  It  might 

traveller  along  the  heights  for  half  a  league  or  more.  Granvelle  tells 
the  story  himself,  in  a  letter  to  Margaret,  but  dismisses  it  as  the  mad 
cap  frolic  of  young  men.  Papiers  d'etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  vii.  pp. 
410,  426. 

42  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  226. 

43  "  Le  comte  d'Egmont  lui  a  dit,  entre  autres,  que,  si  le  cardinal 
revenait,  indubitablement  il  perdrait  la  vie,  et  mettrait  le  Roi  en  risque 
de  perdre  les  Pays-Bas."     Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p. 

295- 

44  "  Je  n'ay  entendu  de  personne  chose  dont  je  peusse  concevoir 
quelque  doubte  que  vous  ne  fussiez,  k  1'endroit  de  mon  service,  tel 
que  je  vous  ay  cogneu,  ny  suis  si  legier  de  prester  1'oreille  a  ceulx  qui 


HE   LEAVES    THE   NETHERLANDS,          503 

almost  seem  that  a  double  meaning  lurked  under 
this  smooth  language.  But,  whatever  may  have  been 
felt,  no  distrust  was  exhibited  on  either  side.  To 
those  who  looked  on  the  surface  only, — and  they 
were  a  hundred  to  one, — it  seemed  as  if  the  dis 
missal  of  the  cardinal  had  removed  all  difficulties; 
and  they  now  confidently  relied  on  a  state  of  per 
manent  tranquillity.  But  there  were  others  whose 
eyes  looked  deeper  than  the  calm  sunshine  that  lay 
upon  'the  surface, — who  saw,  more  distinctly  than 
when  the  waters  were  rufHed  by  the  tempest,  the 
rocks  beneath,  on  which  the  vessel  of  state  was 
afterwards  to  be  wrecked. 

The  cardinal,  on  leaving  the  Low  Countries,  retired 
to  his  patrimonial  estate  at-  Besancon, — embellished 
with  all  that  wealth  and  a  cultivated  taste  could  sup 
ply.  In  this  pleasant  retreat  the  discomfited  states 
man  found  a  solace  in  those  pursuits  which  in  earlier, 
perhaps  happier,  days  had  engaged  his  attention.45 
He  had  particularly  a  turn  for  the  physical  sciences. 
But  he  was  fond  of  letters,  and  in  all  his  tastes 
showed  the  fruits  of  a  liberal  culture.  He  sur 
rounded  himself  with  scholars  and  artists,  and  took 
a  lively  interest  in  their  pursuits.  Justus  Lipsius, 
afterwards  so  celebrated,  was  his  secretary.  He  gave 

me  tascheront  de  mettre  en  timbre  d'ung  personage  de  vostre  qualite, 
et  que  je  cognois  si  bien."  Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Taci- 
turne,  torn.  ii.  p.  76. 

43  "  Quiero  de  aqui  adelante  hazerme  ciego  y  sordo,  y  tractar  con 
mis  libros  y  negocios  particulares,  y  dexar  el  publico  &  los  que  tanto 
saben  y  pueden,  y  componerme  quanto  al  reposo  y  sossiego."  Pa- 
piers  d'£tat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  viii.  p.  91. — A  pleasing  illusion,  as  old 
as  the  time  of  Horace's  "  Beatus  ille,"  etc. 


504      GRANVELLE  COMPELLED  TO  WITHDRAW. 

encouragement  to  Plantin,  who  rivalled  in  Flanders 
the  fame  of  the  Aldi  in  Venice.  His  generous  pat 
ronage  was  readily  extended  to  genius,  in  whatever 
form  it  was  displayed, — it  is  some  proof  how  widely 
extended,  that  in  the  course  of  his  life  he  is  said 
to  have  received  more  than  a  hundred  dedications. 
Though  greedy  of  wealth,  it  was  not  to  hoard  it,  and 
his  large  revenues  were  liberally  dispensed  in  the 
foundation  of  museums,  colleges,  and  public  libraries. 
Besancon,  the  place  of  his  residence,  did  not  profit 
least  by  this  munificence.46 

Such  is  the  portrait  which  historians  have  given 
to  us  of  the  minister  in  his  retirement.  His  own 
letters  show  that  with  these  sources  of  enjoyment  he 
did  not  altogether  disdain  others  of  a  less  spiritual 
character.  A  letter  to  one  of  the  regent's  secre 
taries,  written  soon  after  the  cardinal's  arrival  at 
Besanson,  concludes  in  the  following  manner:  "I 
know  that  God  will  recompense  men  according  to 
their  deserts.  I  have  confidence  that  he  will  aid 
me,  and  that  I  shall  yet  be  able  to  draw  profit  from 
what  my  enemies  designed  for  my  ruin.  This  is  my 
philosophy,  with  which  I  endeavor  to  live  as  joy 
ously  as  I  can,  laughing  at  the  world,  its  calumnies 
and  its  passions."  47 

With  all  this  happy  mixture  of  the  Epicurean  and 
the  Stoic,  the  philosophic  statesman  did  not  so  con- 

46  Gerlache,  Royaume  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  i.  p.  79. 

47  "  Vela  ma  philosophic,  et  procurer  avec  tout  cela  de  vivre  le  plus 
joyeusement  que  Ton  peut,  et  se  rire  du  monde,  des  appassionnez,  et 
de  ce  qu'ilz  dient  sans  fondement."    Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange- 
Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  240. 


THE    GRANVELLE   PAPERS. 


5<>5 


tentedly  submit  to  his  fate  as  to  forego  the  hope  of 
seeing  himself  soon  reinstated  in  authority  in  the 
Netherlands.  "In  the  course  of  two  months,"  he 
writes,  "you  may  expect  to  see  me  there."48  He 
kept  up  an  active  correspondence  with  the  friends 
whom  he  had  left  in  Brussels,  and  furnished  the 
results  of  the  information  thus  obtained,  with  his  own 
commentaries,  to  the  court  at  Madrid.  His  counsel 
was  courted,  and  greatly  considered,  by  Philip  ;  so 
that  from  the  shades  of  his  retirement  the  banished 
minister  was  still  thought  to  exercise  an  important 
influence  on  the  destiny  of  Flanders. 

48  "  Hz  auront  avant  mon  retour,  que  ne  sera,  a  mon  compte,  plus 
tost  que  d'icy  a  deux  mois,  partant  au  commencement  de  juing." 
Archives  de  la  Maison  d' Orange- Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  236. 


A  singular  history  is  attached  to  the  papers  of  Granvelle.  That 
minister  resembled  his  master,  Philip  the  Second,  in  the  fertility  of  his 
epistolary  vein.  That  the  king  had  a  passion  for  writing,  notwith 
standing  he  could  throw  the  burden  of  the  correspondence,  when  it 
suited  him,  on  the  other  party,  is  proved  by  the  quantity  of  letters  he 
left  behind  him.  The  example  of  the  monarch  seems  to  have  had  its 
influence  on  his  courtiers ;  and  no  reign  of  that  time  is  illustrated  by 
a  greater  amount  of  written  materials  from  the  hands  of  the  principal 
actors  in  it.  Far  from  a  poverty  of  materials,  therefore,  the  historian 
has  much  more  reason  to  complain  of  an  embarras  de  richesses. 

Granvelle  filled  the  highest  posts  in  different  parts  of  the  Spanish 
empire  ;  and  in  each  of  these — in  the  Netherlands,  where  he  was  min 
ister,  in  Naples,  where  he  was  viceroy,  in  Spain,  where  he  took  the 
lead  in  the  cabinet,  and  in  Besan9on,  whither  he  retired  from  public 
life— he  left  ample  memorials  under  his  own  hand  of  his  residence 
there.  This  was  particularly  the  case  with  Besan9on,  his  native  town, 
and  the  favorite  residence  to  which  he  turned,  as  he  tells  us,  from  the 
Philip. — VOL.  I. — w  43 


506  THE    GRANVELLE   PAPERS. 

turmoil  of  office  to  enjoy  the  sweets  of  privacy, — yet  not,  in  truth,  so 
sweet  to  him  as  the  stormy  career  of  the  statesman,  to  judge  from  the 
tenacity  with  which  he  clung  to  office. 

The  cardinal  made  his  library  at  Besan9on  the  depository  not  merely 
of  his  own  letters,  but  of  such  as  were  addressed  to  him.  He  pre 
served  them  all,  however  humble  the  sources  whence  they  came,  and, 
like  Philip,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  jotting  down  his  own  reflections  in 
the  margin.  As  Granvelle's  personal  and  political  relations  connected 
him  with  the  most  important  men  of  his  time,  we  may  well  believe 
that  the  mass  of  correspondence  which  he  gathered  together  was  im 
mense.  Unfortunately,  at  his  death,  instead  of  bequeathing  his  manu 
scripts  to  some  public  body,  who  might  have  been  responsible  for  the 
care  of  them,  he  left  them  to  heirs  who  were  altogether  ignorant  of 
their  value.  In  the  course  of  time  the  manuscripts  found  their  way 
to  the  garret,  where  they  soon  came  to  be  regarded  as  little  better 
than  waste  paper.  They  were  pilfered  by  the  children  and  domestics, 
and  a  considerable  quantity  was  sent  off  to  a  neighboring  grocer,  who 
soon  converted  the  correspondence  of  the  great  statesman  into  wrap 
ping-paper  for  his  spices. 

From  this  ignominious  fate  the  residue  of  the  collection  was  happily 
rescued  by  the  generous  exertions  of  the  Abbe  Boissot.  This  excel 
lent  and  learned  man  was  the  head  of  the  Benedictines  of  St.  Vincent 
in  Besan£on,  of  which  town  he  was  himself  a  native.  He  was  ac 
quainted  with  the  condition  of  the  Granvelle  papers,  and  compre 
hended  their  importance.  In  the  course  of  eighty  years  which  had 
elapsed  since  the  cardinal's  death,  his  manuscripts  had  come  to  be 
distributed  among  several  heirs,  some  of  whom  consented  to  transfer 
their  property  gratuitously  to  the  Abbe  Boissot,  while  he  purchased 
that  of  others.  In  this  way  he  at  length  succeeded  in  gathering  to 
gether  all  that  survived  of  the  large  collection ;  and  he  made  it  the 
great  business  of  his  subsequent  life  to  study  its  contents  and  arrange 
the  chaotic  mass  of  papers  with  reference  to  their  subjects.  To  com 
plete  his  labors,  he  caused  the  manuscripts  thus  arranged  to  be  bound, 
in  eighty-two  volumes,  folio,  thus  placing  them  in  that  permanent 
form  which  might  best  secure  them  against  future  accident. 

The  abbe"  did  not  live  to  publish  to  the  world  an  account  of  his  col 
lection,  which  at  his  death  passed  by  his  will  to  his  brethren  of  the 
abbey  of  St.  Vincent,  on  condition  that  it  should  be  forever  opened  to 
the  use  of  the  town  of  Besan9on.  It  may  seem  strange  that,  notwith 
standing  the  existence  of  this  valuable  body  of  original  documents 


THE    GRANVELLE   PAPERS. 


5°7 


was  known  to  scholars,  they  should  so  rarely  have  resorted  to  it  for 
instruction.  Its  secluded  situation,  in  the  heart  of  a  remote  province, 
was  doubtless  regarded  as  a  serious  obstacle  by  the  historical  inquirer, 
in  an  age  when  the  public  took  things  too  readily  on  trust  to  be  very 
solicitous  about  authentic  sources  of  information.  It  is  more  strange 
that  Boissot's  Benedictine  brethren  should  have  shown  themselves  so 
insensible  to  the  treasures  under  their  own  roof.  One  of  their  body, 
Dom  Prosper  1'Evesque,  did  indeed  profit  by  the  Boissot  collection  to 
give  to  the  world  his  Memoires  de  Granvelle,  a  work  in  two  volumes 
duodecimo,  which,  notwithstanding  the  materials  at  the  writer's  com 
mand,  contain  little  of  any  worth,  unless  it  be  an  occasional  extract 
from  Granvelle's  own  correspondence. 

At  length,  in  1834,  the  subject  drew  the  attention  of  M.  Guizot,  then 
Minister  of  Public  Instruction  in  France.  By  his  direction  a  com 
mission  of  five  scholars  was  instituted,  with  the  learned  Weiss  at  its 
head,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  Granvelle  papers,  with  a  view 
to  their  immediate  publication.  The  work  was  performed  in  a  prompt 
and  accurate  manner,  that  must  have  satisfied  its  enlightened  pro 
jector.  In  1839  the  whole  series  of  papers  had  been  subjected  to  a 
careful  analysis,  and  the  portion  selected  that  was  deemed  proper  for 
publication.  The  first  volume  appeared  in  1841 ;  and  the  president 
of  the  commission,  M.  Weiss,  expressed  in  his  preface  the  confident 
hope  that  in  the  course  of  1843  the  remaining  papers  would  all  be 
given  to  the  press.  But  these  anticipations  have  not  been  realized. 
In  1854  only  nine  volumes  had  appeared.  How  far  the^ublication 
has  since  advanced  I  am  ignorant. 

The  Papiers  d'6tat,  besides  Granvelle's  own  letters,  contain  a  large 
amount  of  historical  materials,  such  as  official  documents,  state  papers, 
and  diplomatic  correspondence  of  foreign  ministers, — that  of  Renard, 
for  example,  so  often  quoted  in  these  pages.  There  are,  besides, 
numerous  letters  both  of  Philip  and  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  for  the 
earlier  volumes  embrace  the  times  of  the  emperor.  The  minister's 
own  correspondence  is  not  the  least  valuable  part  of  the  collection. 
Granvelle  stood  so  high  in  the  confidence  of  his  sovereign  that,  when 
not  intrusted  himself  with  the  conduct  of  affairs,  he  was  constantly 
consulted  by  the  king  as  to  the  best  mode  of  conducting  them.  With 
a  different  fate  from  that  of  most  ministers,  he  retained  his  influence 
when  he  had  lost  his  place.  Thus  there  were  few  transactions  of  any 
moment  in  which  he  was  not  called  on  directly  or  indirectly  to  take 
part.  And  his  letters  furnish  a  clue  for  conducting  the  historical 


508  THE    GRANVELLE  PAPERS. 

student  through  more  than  one  intricate  negotiation,  by  revealing  the 
true  motives  of  the  parties  who  were  engaged  in  it. 

Granvelle  was  in  such  intimate  relations  with  the  most  eminent  per 
sons  of  the  time  that  his  correspondence  becomes  in  some  sort  the 
mirror  of  the  age,  reflecting  the  state  of  opinion  on  the  leading  topics 
of  the  day.  For  the  same  reason  it  is  replete  with  matters  of  personal 
as  well  as  political  interest ;  while  the  range  of  its  application,  far  from 
being  confined  to  Spain,  embraces  most  of  the  states  of  Europe  with 
which  Spain  held  intercourse.  The  French  government  has  done 
good  service  by  the  publication  of  a  work  which  contains  so  much  for 
the  illustration  of  the  history  of  the  sixteenth  century.  M.  Weiss,  the 
editor,  has  conducted  his  labors  on  the  true  principles  by  which  an 
editor  should  be  guided ;  and,  far  from  magnifying  his  office  and  un 
seasonably  obtruding  himself  on  the  reader's  attention,  he  has  sought 
only  to  explain  what  is  obscure  in  the  text,  and  to  give  such  occa 
sional  notices  of  the  writers  as  may  enable  the  reader  to  understand 
their  correspondence. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

CHANGES  DEMANDED  BY  THE  LORDS. 

Policy  of  Philip.  —  Ascendency  of  the  Nobles.  —  The  Regent's  Embar 
rassments.  —  Egmont  sent  to  Spain. 


WE  have  now  arrived  at  an  epoch  in  the  history 
of  the  revolution  when,  the  spirit  of  the  nation  having 
been  fully  roused,  the  king  had  been  compelled  to 
withdraw  his  unpopular  minister  and  to  intrust  the 
reins  of  government  to  the  hands  of  the  nobles. 
Before  proceeding  further,  it  will  be  well  to  take  a 
brief  survey  of  the  ground,  that  we  may  the  better 
comprehend  the  relations  in  which  the  parties  stood 
to  each  other  at  the  commencement  of  the  contest. 

In  a  letter  to  his  sister,  the  regent,  written  some 
two  years  after  this  period,  Philip  says,  "  I  have 
never  had  any  other  object  in  view  than  the  good 
of  my  subjects.  In  all  that  I  have  done,  I  have  but 
trod  in  the  footsteps  of  my  father,  under  whom  the 
people  of  the  Netherlands  must  admit  they  lived  con 
tented  and  happy.  As  to  the  Inquisition,  whatever 
people  may  say  of  it,  I  have  never  attempted  any 
thing  new.  With  regard  to  the  edicts,  I  have  been 
always  resolved  to  live  and  die  in  the  Catholic  faith. 
I  could  not  be  content  to  have  my  subjects  do  other- 
43*  (509) 


5 10      CHANGES  DEMANDED   BY  THE   LORDS. 

wise.  Yet  I  see  not  how  this  can  be  compassed 
without  punishing  the  transgressors.  God  knows  how 
willingly  I  would  avoid  shedding  a  drop  of  Christian 
blood, — above  all,  that  of  my  people  in  the  Nether 
lands;  and  I  should  esteem  it  one  of  the  happiest 
circumstances  of  my  reign  to  be  spared  this  neces 
sity."1 

Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  sensibility  of  Philip, 
or  of  his  tenderness  for  his  Flemish  subjects  in  par 
ticular,  we  cannot  deny  that  the  policy  he  had  hitherto 
pursued  was  substantially  that  of  his  father.  Yet  his 
father  lived  beloved,  and  died  lamented,  by  the  Flem 
ings ;  while  Philip's  course,  from  the  very  first,  had 
encountered  only  odium  and  opposition.  A  little 
reflection  will  show  us  the  reasons  of  these  different 
results. 

Both  Charles  and  Philip  came  forward  as  the  great 
champions  of  Catholicism.  But  the  emperor's  zeal 
was  so  far  tempered  by  reason  that  it  could  accom 
modate  itself  to  circumstances.  He  showed  this  on 
more  than  one  occasion,  both  in  Germany  and  in 
Flanders.  Philip,  on  the  other  hand,  admitted  of  no 
compromise.  He  was  the  inexorable  foe  of  heresy. 
Persecution  was  his  only  remedy,  and  the  Inquisition 
the  weapon  on  which  he  relied.  His  first  act  on  set 
ting  foot  on  his  native  shore  was  to  assist  at  an  auto 
de  fe.  This  proclaimed  his  purpose  to  the  world, 
and  associated  his  name  indelibly  with  that  of  the 
terrible  tribunal. 

The  free  people  of  the  Netherlands  felt  the  same 

1  This  remarkable  letter,  dated  Madrid,  May  6th,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  Supplement  a  Strada,  torn.  ii.  p.  346. 


POLICY  OF  PHILIP.  5II 

dread  of  the  Inquisition  that  a  free  and  enlightened 
people  of  our  own  day  might  be  supposed  to  feel. 
They  looked  with  gloomy  apprehension  to  the  un 
speakable  misery  it  was  to  bring  to  their  firesides, 
and  the  desolation  and  ruin  to  their  country.  Every 
thing  that  could  in  any  way  be  connected  with  it 
took  the  dismal  coloring  of  their  fears.  The  edicts 
of  Charles  the  Fifth,  written  in  blood,  became  yet 
more  formidable,  as  declaring  the  penalties  to  be 
inflicted  by  this  tribunal.  Even  the  erection  of  the 
bishoprics,  so  necessary  a  measure,  was  regarded  with 
distrust  on  account  of  the  inquisitorial  powers  which 
of  old  were  vested  in  the  bishops,  thus  seeming  to 
give  additional  strength  to  the  arm  of  persecution. 
The  popular  feeling  was  nourished  by  every  new  con 
vert  to  the  Protestant  faith,  as  well  as  by  those  who, 
from  views  of  their  own,  were  willing  to  fan  the  flame 
of  rebellion. 

Another  reason  why  Philip's  policy  met  with  greater 
opposition  than  that  of  his  predecessor  was  the  change 
in  the  condition  of  the  people  themselves.  Under 
the  general  relaxation  of  the  law,  or  rather  of  its 
execution,  in  the  latter  days  of  Charles  the  Fifth, 
the  number  of  the  Reformers  had  greatly  multiplied. 
Calvinism  predominated  in  Luxemburg,  Artois,  Flan 
ders,  and  the  states  lying  nearest  to  France.  Hol 
land,  Zealand,  and  the  North  were  the  chosen  abode 
of  the  Anabaptists.  The  Lutherans  swarmed  in  the 
districts  bordering  on  Germany;  while  Antwerp,  the 
commercial  capital  of  Brabant,  and  the  great  mart 
of  all  nations,  was  filled  with  sectaries  of  every  de 
scription.  Even  the  Jew,  the  butt  of  persecution 


5i2      CHANGES  DEMANDED  BY  THE   LORDS. 

in  the  Middle  Ages,  is  said  to  have  lived  there  unmo 
lested.  For  such  a  state  of  things  it  is  clear  that 
very  different  legislation  was  demanded  than  for  that 
which  existed  under  Charles  the  Fifth.  It  was  one 
thing  to  eradicate  a  few  noxious  weeds,  and  quite 
another  to  crush  the  sturdy  growth  of  heresy  which 
in  every  direction  now  covered  the  land. 

A  further  reason  for  the  aversion  to  Philip,  and 
one  that  cannot  be  too  often  repeated,  was  that  he 
was  a  foreigner.  Charles  was  a  native  Fleming ; 
and  much  may  be  forgiven  in  a  countryman.  But 
Philip  was  a  Spaniard, —  one  of  the  nation  held  in 
greatest  aversion  by  the  men  of  the  Netherlands. 
It  should  clearly  have  been  his  policy,  therefore,  to 
cover  up  this  defect  in  the  eyes  of  the  inhabitants 
by  consulting  their  national  prejudices,  and  by  a 
show,  at  least,  of  confidence  in  their  leaders.  Far 
from  this,  Philip  began  with  placing  a  Spanish  army 
on  their  borders  in  time  of  peace.  The  administra 
tion  he  committed  to  the  hands  of  a  foreigner.  And 
while  he  thus  outraged  the  national  feeling  at  home, 
it  was  remarked  that  into  the  royal  council  at  Mad 
rid,  where  the  affairs  of  the  Low  Countries,  as  of 
the  other  provinces,  were  settled  in  the  last  resort, 
not  a  Fleming  was  admitted.3  The  public  murmured. 

2  Hopper  does  not  hesitate  to  regard  this  circumstance  as  a  leading 
cause  of  the  discontents  in  Flanders :  "  Se  voyans  desestimez  ou  pour 
mieux  dire  opprimez  par  les  Seigneurs  Espaignols,  qui  chassant  les 
autres  hors  du  Conseil  du  Roy,  participant  seulz  avecq  iceluy,  et  pre- 
sument  de  commander  aux  Seigneurs  et  Chevaliers  des  Pays  d'embas : 
ny  plus  n-i  moins  qu'ilz  font  a  aultres  de  Milan,  Naples,  et  Sicille ;  ce 
que  eulx  ne  veuillans  souffrir  en  maniere  que  ce  soit,  a  este  et  est  la 


ASCENDENCY  OF   THE  NOBLES.  513 

The  nobles  remonstrated  and  resisted.  Philip  was 
obliged  to  retrace  his  steps.  He  made  first  one 
concession,  then  another.  He  recalled  his  troops, 
removed  his  minister.  The  nobles  triumphed,  and 
the  administration  of  the  country  passed  into  their 
hands.  People  thought  the  troubles  were  at  an  end. 
They  were  but  begun.  Nothing  had  been  done  to 
wards  the  solution  of  the  great  problem  of  the  rights 
of  conscience.  On  this  the  king  and  the  country 
were  at  issue  as  much  as  ever.  All  that  had  been 
done  had  only  cleared  the  way  to  the  free  discussion 
of  this  question,  and  to  the  bloody  contest  that  was 
to  follow. 

On  the  departure  of  Granvelle,  the  discontented 
lords,  as  we  have  seen,  again  took  their  seats  in  the 
council  of  state.  They  gave  the  most  earnest  assurances 
of  loyalty  to  the  king,  and  seemed  as  if  desirous  to 
make  amends  for  the  past  by  an  extraordinary  devotion 
to  public  business.  Margaret  received  these  advances 
in  the  spirit  in  which  they  were  made ;  and  the  con 
fidence  which  she  had  formerly  bestowed  on  Granvelle 
she  now  transferred  in  full  measure  to  his  successful 
rivals.3 

It  is  amusing  to  read  her  letters  at  this  period,  and 
to  compare  them  with  those  which  she  wrote  to  Philip 
the  year  preceding.  In  the  new  coloring  given  to  the 
portraits,  it  is  hard  to  recognize  a  single  individual. 
She  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  the  services  of  the 

vraye  ou  du  moins  la  principale  cause  de  ces  maulx  et  alterations." 
Recueil  et  Memorial,  p.  79. 

3  Viglius  makes  many  pathetic  complaints  on  this  head,  in  his  letters 
to  Granvelle.     See  Archives  de  la  Maison  d' Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i. 
p.  319,  et  alibi. 
W* 


514      CHANGES  DEMANDED   BY  THE   LORDS. 

lords, — of  the  prince  of  Orange,  and  Egmont  above 
all, — of  their  devotion  to  the  public  weal  and  the  in 
terests  of  the  sovereign.  She  begs  her  brother  again 
and  again  to  testify  his  own  satisfaction  by  the  most 
gracious  letters  to  these  nobles  that  he  can  write.4 
The  suggestion  seems  to  have  met  with  little  favor 
from  Philip.  No  language,  however,  is  quite  strong 
enough  to  express  Margaret's  disgust  with  the  charac 
ter  and  conduct  of  her  former  minister,  Granvelle.  It 
is  he  that  has  so  long  stood  betwixt  the  monarch  and 
the  love  of  the  people.  She  cannot  feel  easy  that  he 
should  still  remain  so  near  the  Netherlands.  He 
should  be  sent  to  Rome.5  She  distrusts  his  influence, 
even  now,  over  the  cabinet  at  Madrid.  He  is  per 
petually  talking,  she  understands,  of  the  probability 
of  his  speedy  return  to  Brussels.  The  rumor  of  this 
causes  great  uneasiness  in  the  country.  Should  he  be 
permitted  to  return,  it  would  undoubtedly  be  the  signal 
for  an  insurrection.6  It  is  clear  the  duchess  had  sorely 
suffered  from  the  tyranny  of  Granvelle.7 

But,  notwithstanding  the  perfect  harmony  which 
subsisted  between  Margaret  and  the  principal  lords, 
it  was  soon  seen  that  the  wheels  of  government  were 
not  destined  to  run  on  too  smoothly.  Although  the 
cardinal  was  gone,  there  still  remained  a  faction  of 

4  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  pp.  312,  332,  et  alibi. 

5  "  II  faudrait  envoyer  le  cardinal  a  Rome."     Ibid.,  p.  329. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  295. 

7  Morillon,  in  a  letter  to  Granvelle,  dated  July  9th,  1564,  tells  him 
of  the  hearty  hatred  in  which  he  is  held  by  the  duchess ;  who,  whether 
she  has  been  told  that  the  minister  only  made  her  his  dupe,  or  from 
whatever  cause,  never  hears  his  name  without  changing  color.    Papiers 
d'fetat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  viii.  p.  131. 


ASCENDENCY  OF   THE   NOBLES.  ^ 

Cardinalists,  who  represented  his  opinions,  and  who, 
if  few  in  number,  made  themselves  formidable  by  the 
strength  of  their  opposition.  At  the  head  of  these 
were  the  viscount  de  Barlaimont  and  the  President 
Viglius. 

The  former,  head  of  the  council  of  finance,  was  a 
Flemish  noble  of  the  first  class, — yet  more  remarkable 
for  his  character  than  for  his  rank.  He  was  a  man  of 
unimpeachable  integrity,  stanch  in  his  loyalty  both  to 
the  Church  and  to  the  crown,  with  a  resolute  spirit 
not  to  be  shaken,  for  it  rested  on  principle. 

His  coadjutor,  Viglius,  was  an  eminent  jurist,  an 
able  writer,  a  sagacious  statesman.  He 'had  been  much 
employed  by  the  emperor  in  public  affairs,  which  he 
managed  with  a  degree  of  caution  that  amounted 
almost  to  timidity.  He  was  the  personal  friend  of 
Granvelle,  had  adopted  his  views,  and  carried  on  with 
him  a  constant  correspondence,  which  is  among  our 
best  sources  of  information.  He  was  frugal  and  mod 
erate  in  his  habits,  not  provoking  criticism,  like  that 
minister,  by  his  ostentation  and  irregularities  of  life. 
But  he  was  nearly  as  formidable,  from  the  official 
powers  with  wrhich  he  was  clothed,  and  the  dogged 
tenacity  with  which  he  clung  to  his  purposes.  He 
filled  the  high  office  of  president  both  of  the  privy 
council  and  of  the  council  of  state,  and  was  also 
keeper  of  the  great  seal.  It  was  thus  obviously  in  his 
power  to  oppose  a  great  check  to  the  proceedings  of 
the  opposite  party.  That  he  did  thus  often  thwart 
them  is  attested  by  the  reiterated  complaints  of  the 
duchess.  "The  president,"  she  tells  her  brother, 
"makes  me  endure  the  pains  of  hell  by  the  manner  in 


5i6      CHANGES  DEMANDED  BY  THE   LORDS. 

which  he  traverses  .my  measures."8  His  real  object, 
like  that  of  Granvelle  and  of  their  followers,  she  says 
on  another  occasion,  is  to  throw  the  country  into  dis 
order.  They  would  find  their  account  in  fishing  in  the 
troubled  waters.  They  dread  a  state  of  tranquillity, 
which  would  afford  opportunity  for  exposing  their  cor 
rupt  practices  in  the  government.9 

To  these  general  charges  of  delinquency  the  duchess 
added  others,  of  a  more  vulgar  peculation.  Viglius, 
who  had  taken  priest's  orders  for  the  purpose,  was 
provost  of  the  church  of  St.  Bavon.  Margaret  openly 
accused  him  of  purloining  the  costly  tapestries,  the 
plate,  the  linen,  the  jewels,  and  even  considerable 
sums  of  money  belonging  to  the  church.10  She  in 
sisted  on  the  impropriety  of  allowing  such  a  man  to 
hold  office  under  the  government. 

Nor  was  the  president  silent  on  his  part,  and  in  his 
correspondence  with  Granvelle  he  retorts  similar  accu 
sations  in  full  measure  on  his  enemies.  He  roundly 
taxes  the  great  nobles  with  simony  and  extortion. 
Offices,  both  ecclesiastical  and  secular,  were  put  up 
for  sale  in  a  shameless  manner,  and  disposed  of  to  the 
highest  bidder.  It  was  in  this  way  that  the  bankrupt 

8  "  Viglius  lui  fait  souffrir  les  peines  de  1'enfer,  en  traversant  les 
mesures  qu'exige  le  service  du  Roi."     Papiers  d'fetat  de  Granvelle, 
torn.  viii.  p.  314. 

9  "  Us  esperent  alors  pecher,  comme  on  dit,  en  eau  trouble,  et  at- 
teindre  le  but  qu'ils  poursuivent  depuis  longtemps  :  celui  de  s'emparer 
de  toutes  les  affaires.     C'est  pourquoi  ils  ont  £te"  et  sont  encore  con- 
traires  a  1'assemblee  des  etats  generaux.  .  .  .  Le  cardinal,  le  president 
et  leur  sequelle  craignent,  si  la  tranquillite  se  retablit  dans  le  pays, 
qu'on  ne  lise  dans  leurs  livres,  et  qu'on  ne  decouvre  leurs  injustices, 
simonies,  et  rapines."     Ibid.,  p.  311. 

10  Ibid.,  p.  320,  et  alibi. 


ASCENDENCY  OF   THE  NOBLES. 


5*7 


nobles  paid  their  debts,  by  bestowing  vacant  places  on 
their  creditors.  Nor  are  the  regent's  hands,  he  inti 
mates,  altogether  clean  from  the  stain  of  these  trans 
actions."  He  accuses  the  lords,  moreover,  of  using 
their  authority  to  interfere  perpetually  with  the  course 
of  justice.  They  had  acquired  an  unbounded  ascend 
ency  over  Margaret,  and  treated  her  with  a  deference 
which,  he  adds,  "is  ever  sure  to  captivate  the  sex."12 
She  was  more  especially  under  the  influence  of  her 
secretary,  Armenteros,  a  creature  of  the  nobles,  who 
profited  by  his  position  to  fill  his  own  coffers  at  the 
expense  of  the  exchequer.13  For  himself,  he  is  in  such 
disgrace  for  his  resistance  to  these  disloyal  proceedings 
that  the  duchess  excludes  him  as  far  as  possible  from 
the  management  of  affairs,  and  treats  him  with  undis 
guised  coldness.  Nothing  but  the  desire  to  do  his 
duty  would  induce  him  to  remain  a  day  longer  in  a 
post  like  this,  from  which  his  only  wish  is  that  his 
sovereign  would  release  him.14 

11  "  Ce  qu'elle  se  resent  le  plus  centre  v.  i.  S.  et  centre  moy,  est  ce 
que  1'avons  si  longuement  garde  d'en  faire  son  prouffit,  qu'elle  fait 
maintenant  des  offices  et  benefices  et  aultres  graces."     Archives  de  la 
Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  406. 

12  "  Ipsam  etiam  Ducissam  in  suam  pertraxere  sententiam,  honore 
etiam  majore  quam  antea  ipsam  afficientes,  quo  miiliebris  sexus  facilS 
capitur." — This  remark,  however,  is  taken,  not  from  his  correspond 
ence  with  Granvelle,  but  from  his  autobiography.  See  Vita  Viglii,  p.  40. 

*3  The  extortions  of  Margaret's  secretary,  who  was  said  to  have 
amassed  a  fortune  of  seventy  thousand  ducats  in  her  service,  led  the 
people,  instead  of  Armenteros,  punningly  to  call  him  Argenterios. 
This  piece  of  scandal  is  communicated  for  the  royal  ear  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  one  of  the  king's  secretaries  by  Fray  Lorenzo  de  Villa- 
cancio,  of  whom  I  shall  give  a  full  account  elsewhere.  Gachard, 
Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn,  ii.,  Rapport,  p.  xliii. 

M  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  273,  et  alibi. 
Philip. — VOL.  T.  44 


5i8      CHANGES  DEMANDED   BY   THE   LORDS. 

The  president  seems  never  to  have  written  directly 
to  Philip.  It  would  only  expose  him,  he  said,  to  the 
suspicions  and  the  cavils  of  his  enemies.  The  wary 
statesman  took  warning  by  the  fate  of  Granvelle.  But, 
as  his  letters  to  the  banished  minister  were  all  for 
warded  to  Philip,  the  monarch,  with  the  despatches  of 
his  sister  before  him,  had  the  means  of  contemplating 
both  sides  of  the  picture,  and  of  seeing  that,  to  which 
ever  party  he  intrusted  the  government,  the  interests 
of  the  country  were  little  likely  to  be  served.  Had  it 
been  his  father,  the  emperor,  who  was  on  the  throne, 
such  knowledge  would  not  have  been  in  his  possession 
four-and-twenty  hours  before  he  would  have  been  on 
his  way  to  the  Netherlands.  But  Philip  was  of  a  more 
sluggish  temper.  He  was  capable,  indeed,  of  much 
passive  exertion, — of  incredible  toil  in  the  cabinet, — 
and  from  his  palace,  as  was  said,  would  have  given  law 
to  Christendom.  But  rather  than  encounter  the  diffi 
culties  of  a  voyage  he  was  willing,  it  appears,  to  risk 
the  loss  of  the  finest  of  his  provinces.15 

fs  Granvelle  regarded  such  a  step  as  the  only  effectual  remedy  for 
the  disorders  in  the  Low  Countries.  In  a  remarkable  letter  to  Philip, 
dated  July  2Oth,  1565,  he  presents  such  a  view  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  government  is  conducted  as  might  well  alarm  his  master.  Justice 
and  religion  are  at  the  lowest  ebb.  Public  offices  are  disposed  of  at 
private  sale.  The  members  of  the  council  indulge  in  the  greatest 
freedom  in  their  discussions  on  matters  of  religion.  It  is  plain  that 
the  Confession  of  Augsburg  would  be  acceptable  to  some  of  them. 
The  truth  is  never  allowed  to  reach  the  king's  ears ;  as  the  letters  sent 
to  Madrid  are  written  to  suit  the  majority  of  the  council,  and  so  as 
not  to  give  an  unfavorable  view  of  the  country.  Viglius  is  afraid  to 
write.  There  are  spies  at  the  court,  he  says,  who  would  betray  his 
correspondence,  and  it  might  cost  him  his  life.  Granvelle  concludes 
by  urging  the  king  to  come  in  person,  and  with  money  enough  to 


ASCENDENCY  OF   THE   NOBLES.  519 

YU  he  wrote  to  his  sister  to  encourage  her  with  the 
prospect  of  his  visiting  the  country  as  soon  as  he  could 
be  released  from  a  war  in  which  he  was  engaged  with 
the  Turks.  He  invited  her,  at  the  same  time,  to  send 
him  further  particulars  of  the  misconduct  of  Viglius, 
and  expressed  the  hope  that  some  means  might  be 
found  of  silencing  his  opposition.16 

It  is  not  easy  at  this  day  to  strike  the  balance  be 
tween  the  hostile  parties,  so  as  to  decide  on  the  justice 
of  these  mutual  accusations  and  to  assign  to  each  the 
proper  share  of  responsibility  for  the  mismanagement 
of  the  government.  That  it  was  mismanaged  is  certain. 
That  offices  were  put  up  for  sale  is  undeniable ;  for  the 
duchess  frankly  discusses  the  expediency  of  it,  in  a 
letter  to  her  brother.  This,  at  least,  absolves  the  act 
from  the  imputation  of  secrecy.  The  conflict  of  the 
council  of  state  with  the  two  other  councils  often  led 
to  disorders,  since  the  decrees  passed  by  the  privy 
council,  which  had  cognizance  of  matters  of  justice, 
were  frequently  frustrated  by  the  amnesties  and  par 
dons  granted  by  the  council  of  state.  To  remedy 
this,  the  nobles  contended  that  it  was  necessary  to 
subject  the  decrees  of  the  other  councils  to  the  re 
vision  of  the  council  of  state,  and,  in  a  word,  to  con 
centrate  in  this  last  body  the  whole  authority  of  gov 
ernment.17  The  council  of  state,  composed  chiefly  of 
the  great  aristocracy,  looked  down  with  contempt  on 

subsidize  a  force  to  support  him.  Papiers  d'£tat  de  Granvelle,  torn, 
viii.  p.  620,  et  seq. 

16  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  317. 

J7  Hopper,  Recueil  et  Memorial,  p.  39. — Archives  de  la  Maison 
d' Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  222. — Correspondance  de  Philippe  II., 
torn.  i.  p.  347,  et  alibi. 


5 20      CHANGES  DEMANDED  BY   THE   LORDS. 

those  subordinate  councils,  made  up  for  the  most  part 
of  men  of  humbler  condition,  pledged  by  their  eleva 
tion  to  office  to  maintain  the  interests  of  the  crown. 
They  would  have  placed  the  administration  of  the 
country  in  the  hands  of  an  oligarchy,  made  up  of 
the  great  Flemish  nobles.  This  would  be  to  break  up 
that  system  of  distribution  into  separate  departments 
established  by  Charles  the  Fifth  for  the  more  perfect 
despatch  of  business.  It  would,  in  short,  be  such  a 
change  in  the  constitution  of  the  country  as  would  of 
itself  amount  to  a  revolution. 

In  the  state  of  things  above  described,  the  Reforma 
tion  gained  rapidly  in  the  country.  The  nobles  gen 
erally,  as  has  been  already  intimated,  were  loyal  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  Many  of  the  younger  no 
bility,  however,  who  had  been  educated  at  Geneva,  re 
turned  tinctured  with  heretical  doctrines  from  the  school 
of  Calvin.18  But,  whether  Catholic  or  Protestant,  the 
Flemish  aristocracy  looked  with  distrust  on  the  system 
of  persecution,  and  held  the  Inquisition  in  the  same 
abhorrence  as  did  the  great  body  of  the  people.  It  was 
fortunate  for  the  Reformation  in  the  Netherlands  that 
at  its  outset  it  received  the  support  even  of  the  Catho 
lics,  who  resisted  the  Inquisition  as  an  outrage  on  their 
political  liberties. 

18  The  Spanish  ambassador  to  England,  Guzman  de  Silva,  in  a 
letter  dated  from  the  Low  Countries,  refers  this  tendency  among  the 
younger  nobles  to  their  lax  education  at  home,  and  to  their  travels 
abroad :  "  La  noblesse  du  pays  est  generalement  catholique :  il  n'y  a 
que  les  jeunes  gens  dont,  a  cause  de  1'education  relachee  qu'ils  ont 
re9ue,  et  de  leur  frequentation  dans  les  pays  voisins,  les  principes  soient 
un  peu  equivoques."  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p. 
383- 


ASCENDENCY  OF   THE  NOBLES.  521 

Under  the  lax  administration  of  the  edicts,  exiles 
who  had  fled  abroad  from  persecution  now  returned 
to  Flanders.  Calvinist  ministers  and  refugees  from 
France  crossed  the  borders  and  busied  themselves  with 
the  work  of  proselytism.  Seditious  pamphlets  were 
circulated,  calling  on  the  regent  to  confiscate  the 
ecclesiastical  revenues  and  apply  them  to  the  use  of 
the  state,  as  had  been  done  in  England.19  The  Inqui 
sition  became  an  object  of  contempt  almost  as  much 
as  of  hatred.  Two  of  the  principal  functionaries  wrote 
to  Philip  that  without  further  support  they  could  be 
of  no  use  in  a  situation  which  exposed  them  only  to 
derision  and  danger.20  At  Bruges  and  at  Brussels  the 
mob  entered  the  prisons  and  released  the  prisoners.  A 
more  flagrant  violation  of  justice  occurred  at  Antwerp. 
A  converted  friar,  named  Fabricius,  who  had  been 
active  in  preaching  and  propagating  the  new  doctrines, 
was  tried  and  sentenced  to  the  stake.  On  the  way  to 
execution,  the  people  called  out  to  him,  from  the  bal 
conies  and  the  doorways,  to  "take  courage,  and  endure 
manfully  to  the  last."21  When  the  victim  was  bound 
to  the  stake,  and  the  pile  was  kindled,  the  mob  dis 
charged  such  a  volley  of  stones  at  the  officers  as  speedily 
put  them  to  flight.  But  the  unhappy  man,  though  un- 

J9  "  Se  dice  publico  que  ay  medios  para  descargar  todas  las  deudas 
del  Rey  sin  cargo  del  pueblo,  tomando  los  bienes  de  la  gente  de 
yglesia  6  parte,  conforme  al  ejemplo  que  se  ha  hecho  en  ynglaterra  y 
francia,  y  tambien  que  ellos  eran  muy  ricos  y  volberian  mas  templados 
y  hombres  de  bien."  Renom  de  Francia,  Alborotos  de  Flandes,  MS. 

20  "  Leur  office  est  devenu  odieux  au  peuple ;  ils  rencontrent  tant 
de  resistances  et  de  calomnies,  qu'ils  ne  peuvent  1'exercer  sans  danger 
pour  leurs  personnes."  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  353. 

2*  Brandt,  Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries,  torn.  i.  p.  147. 
44* 


522 


CHANGES  DEMANDED   BY  THE   LORDS. 


scathed  by  the  fire,  was  stabbed  to  the  heart  by  the  ex 
ecutioner,  who  made  his  escape  in  the  tumult.  The  next 
morning,  placards  written  in  blood  were  found  affixed 
to  the  public  buildings,  threatening  vengeance  on  all 
who  had  had  any  part  in  the  execution  of  Fabricius; 
and  one  of  the  witnesses  against  him,  a  woman,  hardly 
escaped  with  life  from  the  hands  of  the  populace.22 

The  report  of  these  proceedings  caused  a  great  sen 
sation  at  Madrid ;  and  Philip  earnestly  called  on  his 
sister  to  hunt  out  and  pursue  the  offenders.  This  was 
not  easy,  where  most  even  of  those  who  did  not  join 
in  the  act  fully  shared  in  the  feeling  which  led  to  it. 
Yet  Philip  continued  to  urge  the  necessity  of  enforcing 
the  laws  for  the  preservation  of  the  Faith,  as  the  thing 
dearest  to  his  heart.  He  would  sometimes  indicate  in 
his  letters  the  name  of  a  suspicious  individual,  his  usual 
dress,  his  habits  and  appearance, — descending  into  de 
tails  which  may  well  surprise  us,  considering  the  mul 
titude  of  affairs  of  a  weightier  character  that  pressed 
upon  his  mind.23  One  cannot  doubt  that  Philip  was 
at  heart  an  inquisitor. 

Yet  the  fires  of  persecution  were  not  permitted 
wholly  to  slumber.  The  historian  of  the  Reforma 
tion  enumerates  seventeen  who  suffered  capitally  for 
their  religious  opinions  in  the  course  of  the  year 
I564.24  This,  though  pitiable,  was  a  small  number — 
if  indeed  it  be  the  whole  number — compared  with  the 

22  Brandt,  Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries,  torn.  i.  p.  147. — 
Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  p.  174. — Correspondance  de  Philippe  II., 
torn.  i.  pp.  321,  327. 

*3  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  p.  172. — Correspondance  de  Philippe 
II.,  torn.  i.  p.  327,  et  alibi. 

**  Brandt,  Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries,  torn.  i.  pp.  146-149. 


THE   REGENT'S  EMBARRASSMENTS.       523 

thousands  who  are  said  to  have  perished  in  the  same 
space  of  time  in  the  preceding  reign.  It  was  too  small 
to  produce  any  effect  as  a  persecution,  while  the  sight 
of  the  martyr,  singing  hymns  in  the  midst  of  the 
flames,  only  kindled  a  livelier  zeal  in  the  spectators, 
and  a  deeper  hatred  for  their  oppressors. 

The  finances  naturally  felt  the  effects  of  the  general 
disorder  of  the  country.  The  public  debt,  already 
large,  as  we  have  seen,  was  now  so  much  increased 
that  the  yearly  deficiency  in  the  revenue,  according  to 
the  regent's  own  statement,  amounted  to  six  hundred 
thousand  florins ; 2S  and  she  knew  of  no  way  of  extri 
cating  the  country  from  its  embarrassments,  unless  the 
king  should  come  to  its  assistance.  The  convocation 
of  the  states-general  was  insisted  on  as  the  only 
remedy  for  these  disorders.  That  body  alone,  it  was 
contended,  was  authorized  to  vote  the  requisite  sub 
sidies  and  to  redress  the  manifold  grievances  of  the 
nation.  Yet  in  point  of  fact  its  powers  had  hitherto 
been  little  more  than  to  propose  the  subsidies  for  the 
approbation  of  the  several  provinces,  and  to  remon 
strate  on  the  grievances  of  the  nation.  To  invest  the 
states-general  with  the  power  of  redressing  these  griev 
ances  would  bestow  on  them  legislative  functions  which 
they  had  rarely,  if  ever,  exercised.  This  would  be  to 
change  the  constitution  of  the  country,  by  the  new 
weight  it  would  give  to  the  popular  element ;  a  change 
which  the  great  lords,  who  had  already  the  lesser 
nobles  entirely  at  their  disposal,26  would  probably 

2S  "La  depense  excede  annuellement  les  revenus,  de  600,000  florins." 
Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  328. 
*  "  Quant  a  la  moyenne  noblesse  des  Pays-Bas,  les  Seigneurs  1'au- 


CHANGES  DEMANDED   BY  THE   LORDS. 

know  well  how  to  turn  to  account.27  Yet  Margaret 
had  now  so  entirely  resigned  herself  to  their  influence 
that,  notwithstanding  the  obvious  consequences  of 
these  measures,  she  recommended  to  Philip  both  to 
assemble  the  states-general  and  to  remodel  the  council 
of  state ; 28 — and  this  to  a  monarch  more  jealous  of  his 
authority  than  any  other  prince  in  Europe  ! 

To  add  to  the  existing  troubles,  orders  were  received 
from  the  court  of  Madrid  to  publish  the  decrees  of 
the  Council  of  Trent  throughout  the  Netherlands. 
That  celebrated  council  had  terminated  its  long  ses 
sion  in  1563,  with  the  results  that  might  have  been 
expected,  —  those  of  widening  the  breach  between 
Protestant  and  Catholic,  and  of  enlarging,  or  at 
least  more  firmly  establishing,  the  authority  of  the 
pope.  One  good  result  may  be  mentioned,  that  of 
providing  for  a  more  strict  supervision  of  the  morals 
and  discipline  of  the  clergy, — a  circumstance  which 
caused  the  decrees  to  be  in  extremely  bad  odor  with 
that  body. 

It  was  hoped  that  Philip  would  imitate  the  example 

ront  tantost  a  leur  cordelle."  Chantonnay  to  Granvelle,  October  6th, 
1565,  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  426. 

*7  That  Granvelle  understood  well  these  consequences  of  convening 
the  states-general  is  evident  from  the  manner  in  which  he  repeatedly 
speaks  of  this  event  in  his  correspondence  with  the  king.  See,  in 
particular,  a  letter  to  Philip,  dated  as  early  as  August  2oth,  156^ , 
where  he  sums  up  his  remarks  on  the  matter  by  saying,  "  In  fine,  the> 
would  entirely  change  the  form  of  government,  so  that  there  would  be 
little  remaining  for  the  regent  to  do,  as  the  representative  of  your 
majesty,  or  for  your  majesty  yourself  to  do,  since  they  would  have 
completely  put  you  under  guardianship."  Papiers  d'etat  de  Gran 
velle,  torn.  vii.  p.  186. 

38  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  329. 


THE   REGENT'S  EMBARRASSMENTS,       525 

of  France,  and  reject  decrees  which  thus  exalted  the 
power  of  the  pope.  Men  were  led  to  expect  this 
the  more,  from  the  mortification  which  the  king  had 
lately  experienced  from  a  decision  of  the  pontiff  on 
a  question  of  precedence  between  the  Castilian  and 
French  ambassadors  at  his  court.  This  delicate  mat 
ter,  long  pending,  had  been  finally  determined  in 
favor  of  France  by  Pius  the  Fifth,  who  may  have 
thought  it  more  politic  to  secure  a  fickle  ally  than 
to  reward  a  firm  one.  The  decision  touched  Philip 
to  the  quick.  He  at  once  withdrew  his  ambassador 
from  Rome,  and  refused  to  receive  an  envoy  from 
his  holiness.29  It  seemed  that  a  serious  rupture  was 
likely  to  take  place  between  the  parties.  But  it  was 
not  in  the  nature  of  Philip  to  be  long  at  feud  with 
the  court  of  Rome.  In  a  letter  to  the  duchess  of 
Parma,  .dated  August  6th,  1564,  he  plainly  intimated 
that  in  matters  of  faith  he  was  willing  at  all  times 
to  sacrifice  his  private  feelings  to  the  public  weal.30 
He  consequently  commanded  the  decrees  of  the  Coun 
cil  of  Trent  to  be  received  as  law  throughout  his 
dominions,  saying  that  he  could  make  no  exception 
for  the  Netherlands,  when  he  made  none  for  Spain.31 

The  promulgation  of  the  decrees  was  received,  as 
had  been  anticipated,  with  general  discontent.  The 
clergy  complained  of  the  interference  with  their  im- 

29  Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib.  vi.  cap.  14,  16.— Strada,  De  Bello 
Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  176. 

3°  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  179. 

31  "  Si,  apres  avoir  accepte  le  concile  sans  limitations  dans  tous  ses 
autres  royaumes  et  seigneuries,  il  allait  y  opposer  des  reserves  aux 
Pays-Bas,  cela  produirait  un  facheux  effet."  Correspondance  <ie 
Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  328. 


5 26      CHANGES  DEMANDED   BY  THE   LORDS. 

munities.  The  men  of  Brabant  stood  stoutly  on  the 
chartered  rights  secured  to  them  by  the  " Joyeuse 
Entree"  And  the  people  generally  resisted  the  de 
crees,  from  a  vague  idea  of  their  connection  with  the 
Inquisition ;  while,  as  usual  when  mischief  was  on  foot, 
they  loudly  declaimed  against  Granvelle  as  being  at 
the  bottom  of  it. 

In  this  unhappy  condition  of  affairs,  it  was  deter 
mined  by  the  council  of  state  to  send  some  one  to 
Madrid  to  lay  the  grievances  of  the  nation  before 
the  king,  and  to  submit  to  him  what  in  their  opinion 
would  be  the  most  effectual  remedy.  They  were  the 
more  induced  to  this  by  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of 
the  royal  correspondence.  Philip,  to  the  great  dis 
content  of  the  lords,  had  scarcely  condescended  to 
notice  their  letters.32  Even  to  Margaret's  ample  com 
munications  he  rarely  responded,  and,  when  he  did,  it 
was  in  vague  and  general  terms,  conveying  little  more 
than  the  necessity  of  executing  justice  and  watching 
over  the  purity  of  the  Faith. 

The  person  selected  for  the  unenviable  mission  to 
Madrid  was  Egmont,  whose  sentiments  of  loyalty, 
and  of  devotion  to  the  Catholic  faith,  it  was  thought, 

32  Yet  whatever  slight  Philip  may  have  put  upon  the  lords  in  this 
respect,  he  showed  William,  in  particular,  a  singular  proof  of  confi 
dence.  The  prince's  cuisine,  as  I  have  elsewhere  stated,  was  renowned 
over  the  Continent ;  and  Philip  requested  of  him  his  chef,  to  take  the 
place  of  his  own,  lately  deceased.  But  the  king  seems  to  lay  less  stress 
on  the  skill  of  this  functionary  than  on  his  trustworthiness, — a  point 
of  greater  moment  with  a  monarch.  This  was  a  compliment — in  that 
suspicious  age — to  William,  which,  we  imngine,  he  would  have  been 
slow  to  return  by  placing  his  life  in  the  hands  of  a  cook  from  the  royal 
kitchens  of  Madrid.  See  Philip's  letter  in  the  Correspondance  de 
Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn.  ii.  p.  89. 


EG  MO  NT  SENT  TO   SPAIN.  $27 

would  recommend  him  to  the  king;  while  his  bril 
liant  reputation,  his  rank,  and  his  popular  manners 
would  find  favor  with  the  court  and  the  people. 
Egmont  himself  was  the  less  averse  to  the  mission, 
that  he  had  some  private  suits  of  his  own  to  urge 
with  the  monarch. 

This  nomination  was  warmly  supported  by  Wil 
liam,  between  whom  and  the  count  a  perfectly  good 
understanding  seems  to  have  subsisted,  in  spite  of 
the  efforts  of  the  Cardinalists  to  revive  their  ancient 
feelings  of  jealousy.  Yet  these  feelings  still  glowed 
in  the  bosoms  of  the  wives  of  the  two  nobles,  as  was 
evident  from  the  warmth  with  which  they  disputed 
the  question  of  precedence  with  each  other.  Both 
were  of  the  highest  rank,  and,  as  there  was  no  um 
pire  to  settle  the  delicate  question,  it  was  finally 
arranged  by  the  two  ladies  appearing  in  public  always 
arm  in  arm, — an  equality  which  the  haughty  dames 
were  careful  to  maintain,  in  spite  of  the  ridiculous 
embarrassments  to  which  they  were  occasionally  ex 
posed  by  narrow  passages  and  doorways.33  If  the 
question  of  precedence  had  related  to  character,  it 
would  have  been  easily  settled.  The  troubles  from 
the  misconduct  of  Anne  of  Saxony  bore  as  heavily 

33  Margaret  would  fain  have  settled  the  dispute  by  giving  the  countess 
of  Egmont  precedence  at  table  over  her  fair  rival.  (Archives  de  la 
Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  445.)  But  both  Anne  of  Saxony 
and  her  household  stoutly  demurred  to  this  decision, — perhaps  to  the 
right  of  the  regent  to  make  it.  "  Les  femmes  ne  se  cedent  en  rien  et 
se  tiegnent  par  le  bras,  ingredientes  pari passu,  et  si  Ton  rencontre  une 
porte  trop  estroicte,  Ton  se  serre  1'ung  sur  1'aultre  pour  passer  egale- 
ment  par  ensamble,  affin  que  il  n'y  ayt  du  devant  ou  derriere."  Ar 
chives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  Supplement,  p.  22. 


528      CHANGES  DEMANDED  BY  THE   LORDS. 

on  the  prince,  her  husband,  at  this  very  time,  as  the 
troubles  of  the  state.34 

Before  Egmont's  departure,  a  meeting  of  the  coun 
cil  of  state  was  called,  to  furnish  him  with  the  proper 
instructions.  The  president,  Viglius,  gave  it  as  his 
opinion  that  the  mission  was  superfluous,  and  that 
the  great  nobles  had  only  to  reform  their  own  way 
of  living  to  bring  about  the  necessary  reforms  in  the 
country.  Egmont  was  instructed  by  the  regent  to 
represent  to  the  king  the  deplorable  condition  of  the 
land,  the  prostration  of  public  credit,  the  decay  of  re 
ligion,  and  the  symptoms  of  discontent  and  disloyalty 
in  the  people.  As  the  most  effectual  remedy  for  these 
evils, -fre  was  to  urge  the  king  to  come  in  person,  and 
that  speedily,  to  Flanders.  "If  his  majesty  does  not 
approve  of  this,"  said  Margaret,  "impress  upon  him 
the  necessity  of  making  further  remittances,  and  of 
giving  me  precise  instructions  as  to  the  course  I  am  to 
pursue. ' ' 35 

34  There  is  a  curious  epistle,  in  Green's  collection,  from  William  to 
his  wife's  uncle,  the  elector  of  Saxony,  containing  sundry  charges 
against  his  niece.     The  termagant  lady  was  in  the  habit,  it  seems,  of 
rating  her  husband  roundly  before   company.     William,  with  some 
naivete,  declares  he  could  have  borne  her  ill-humor  to  a  reasonable 
extent  in  private,  but  in  public  it  was  intolerable.     Unhappily,  Anne 
gave  more  serious  cause  of  disturbance  to  her  lord  than  that  which 
arose  from  her  temper,  and  which  afterwards  led  to  their  separation. 
On  the  present  occasion,  it  may  be  added,  the  letter  was  not  sent, — 
as  the  lady,  who  had  learned  the  nature  of  it,  promised  amendment. 
Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  ii.  p.  31. 

35  "  Au  cas  que  le  Roi  s'en  excuse,  il  doit  demander  que  S.  M. 
donne  &  la  duchesse  des  instructions  precises  sur  la  conduite  qu'elle  a 
a  tenir."     Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  337. — The  ori 
ginal  instructions  prepared  by  Viglius  were  subsequently  modified  by 


EG  MO  NT  SENT   TO   SPAIN.  529 

The  prince  of  Orange  took  part  in  the  discussion 
with  a  warmth  he  had  rarely  shown.  It  was  time,  he 
said,  that  the  king  should  be  disabused  of  the  errors 
under  which  he  labored  in  respect  to  the  Netherlands. 
The  edicts  must  be  mitigated.  It  was  not  possible,  in 
the  present  state  of  feeling,  either  to  execute  the  edicts 
or  to  maintain  the  Inquisition.36  The  Council  of  Trent 
was  almost  equally  odious;  nor  could  they  enforce  its 
decrees  in  the  Netherlands  while  the  countries  on  the 
borders  rejected  them.  The  people  would  no  longer 
endure  the  perversion  of  justice  and  the  miserable 
wrangling  of  the  councils.  This  last  blow  was  aimed 
at  the  president.  The  only  remedy  was  to  enlarge  the 
council  of  state  and  to  strengthen  its  authority.  For 
his  own  part,  he  concluded,  he  could  not  understand 
how  any  prince  could  claim  the  right  of  interfering 
with  the  consciences  of  his  subjects  in  matters  of 
religion.37  The  impassioned  tone  of  his  eloquence, 
so  contrary  to  the  usually  calm  manner  of  William 
the  Silent,  and  the  boldness  with  which  he  avowed 
his  opinions,  caused  a  great  sensation  in  the  assem 
bly,38  That  night  was  passed  by  Viglius,  who  gives 

his  friend  Hopper,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  prince  of  Orange.     See 
Vita  Viglii,  p.  41. 
s6  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

37  "  Non  posse  ei  placere,  velle  Principes  animis  hominum  imperare, 
libertatemque  Fidei  et  Religionis  ipsis  adimere."     Ibid.,  p.  42. 

38  Burgundius  puts  into  the  mouth  of  William  on  this  occasion  a 
fine  piece  of  declamation,  in  which  he  reviews  the  history  of  heresy 
from  the  time  of  Constantine  the  Great  downwards.     This  display  of 
school-boy  erudition,  so  unlike  the  masculine  simplicity  of  the  prince 
of  Orange,  may  be  set  down  among  those  fine  things,  the  credit  of 
which  may  be  fairly  given  to  the  historian  rather  than  to  the  hero. 
Burgundius,  Hist.  Belgica  (Ingolst.,  1633),  pp.  126-131. 

Philip.— VOL.  I.— x  45 


530 


CHANGES  DEMANDED   BY  THE   LORDS. 


his  own  account  of  the  matter,  in  tossing  on  his 
bed,  painfully  ruminating  on  his  forlorn  position  in 
the  council,  with  scarcely  one  to  support  him  in  the 
contest  which  he  was  compelled  to  wage,  not  merely 
with  the  nobles,  but  with  the  regent  herself.  The 
next  morning,  while  dressing,  he  was  attacked  by 
a  fit  of  apoplexy,  which  partially  deprived  him  of 
the  use  of  both  his  speech  and  his  limbs.39  It  was 
some  time  before  he  could  resume  his  place  at  the 
board.  This  new  misfortune  furnished  him  with  a 
substantial  argument  for  soliciting  the  king's  per 
mission  to  retire  from  office.  In  this  he  was  warmly 
seconded  by  Margaret,  who,  while  she  urged  the  presi 
dent's  incapacity,  nothing  touched  by  his  situation, 
eagerly  pressed  her  brother  to  call  him  to  account  for 
his  delinquencies,  and  especially  his  embezzlement  of 
the  church  property.40 

Philip,  who  seems  to  have  shunned  any  direct  inter 
course  with  his  Flemish  subjects,  had  been  averse  to 
have  Egmont,  or  any  other  envoy,  sent  to  Madrid. 
On  learning  that  the  mission  was  at  length  settled, 
he  wrote  to  Margaret  that  he  had  made  up  his  mind 
to  receive  the  count  graciously  and  to  show  no  dis 
content  with  the  conduct  of  the  lords.  That  the 
journey,  however,  was  not  without  its  perils,  may  be 
inferred  from  a  singular  document  that  has  been  pre- 
39  "  Itaque  mane  de  lecto  surgens,  inter  vestiendum  apoplexia  at- 
tactus  est,  ut  occurrentes  domestici  amicique  in  summo  eum  discrimine 
versari  judicarent."  Vita  Viglii,  p.  42. 

4°  "  Elle  conseille  au  Roi  d'ordonnera  Viglius  de  rendresescomptes, 
et  de  restituer  les  meubles  des  n&uf  maisons  de  sa  prevote  de  Saint- 
Bavon,  qu'il  a  depouillees."  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i. 
P-  350. 


EGMONT  SENT  TO   SPAIN.  53I 

served  to  us.  It  is  signed  by  a  number  of  Egmont's 
personal  friends,  each  of  whom  traced  his  signature 
in  his  own  blood.  In  this  paper  the  parties  pledge 
their  faith,  as  true  knights  and  gentlemen,  that  if 
any  harm  be  done  to  Count  Egmont  during  his 
absence  they  will  take  ample  vengeance  on  Cardinal 
Granvelle,  or  whoever  might  be  the  author  of  it.41 
The  cardinal  seems  to  have  been  the  personification 
of  evil  with  the  Flemings  of  every  degree.  This 
instrument,  which  was  deposited  with  the  Countess 
Egmont,  was  subscribed  with  the  names  of  seven 
nobles,  most  of  them  afterwards  conspicuous  in  the 
troubles  of  the  country.  One  might  imagine  that 
such  a  document  was  more  likely  to  alarm  than  to 
reassure  the  wife  to  whom  it  was  addressed.42 

In  the  beginning  of  January,  Egmont  set  out  on 
his  journey.  He  was  accompanied  for  some  distance 
by  a  party  of  his  friends,  who  at  Cambray  gave  him 
a  splendid  entertainment.  Among  those  present  was 
the  archbishop  of  Cambray,  a  prelate  who  had  made 
himself  unpopular  by  the  zeal  he  had  shown  in  the 
persecution  of  the  Reformers.  As  the  wine-cup  passed 
freely  round,  some  of  the  younger  guests  amused 
themselves  with  frequently  pledging  the  prelate,  and 
endeavoring  to  draw  him  into  a  greater  degree  of 

41  "  Lui  promettons,  en  foy  de  gentilhomme  et  chevalier  d'honeur 
si  durant  son  aller  et  retaur  lui  adviene  quelqtie  notable  inconvenient, 
que  nous  en  prendrons  la  vengeance  sur  le  Cardinal  de  Granvelle  ou 
seux  qui  en  seront  participans  ou  penseront  de  1'estre,  et  non  sur 
autre."     Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  345. 

42  This  curious  document,  published  by  Arnoldi  (Hist.  Denkw.,  p. 
282),  has  been  transferred  by  Groen  to  the  pages  of  his  collection. 
See  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  ubi  supra. 


5  3  2      CHANGES  DEMANDED   BY   THE   LORDS. 

conviviality  than  was  altogether  becoming  his  station. 
As  he  at  length  declined  their  pledges,  they  began 
openly  to  taunt  him ;  and  one  of  the  revellers,  irri 
tated  by  the  archbishop's  reply,  would  have  thrown 
a  large  silver  dish  at  his  head,  had  not  his  arm  been 
arrested  by  Egmont.  Another  of  the  company,  how 
ever,  succeeded  in  knocking  off  the  prelate's  cap;43 
and  a  scene  of  tumult  ensued,  from  which  the  arch 
bishop  was  extricated,  not  without  difficulty,  by  the 
more  sober  and  considerate  part  of  the  company. 
The  whole  affair — mortifying  in  the  extreme  to  Eg 
mont — is  characteristic  of  the  country  at  this  period, 
when  business  of  the  greatest  importance  was  settled 
at  the  banquet,  as  we  often  find  in  the  earlier  history 
of  the  revolution. 

Egmont's  reception  at  Madrid  was  of  the  most 
flattering  kind.  Philip's  demeanor  towards  his  great 
vassal  was  marked  by  unusual  benignity ;  and  the 
courtiers,  readily  taking  their  cue  from  their  sove 
reign,  vied  with  one  another  in  attentions  to  the 
man  whose  prowess  might  be  said  to  have  won  for 
Spain  the  great  victories  of  Gravelines  and  St.  Quen- 
tin.  In  fine,  Egmont,  whose  brilliant  exterior  and 
noble  bearing  gave  additional  lustre  to  his  reputation, 
was  the  object  of  general* admiration  during  his  resi 
dence  of  several  weeks  at  Madrid.  It  seemed  as  if 
the  court  of  Castile  was  prepared  to  change  its  policy, 

43  "  Ibi  turn  offensus  conviva,  arreptam  argenteam  pelvim  (quae 
manibus  abluendis  mensam  fuerat  imposita)  injicere  Archiepiscopo  in 
caput  conatur:  retinet  pelvim  Egmondanus:  quod  dum  facit,  en  alter 
conviva  pugno  in  frontem  Archiepiscopo  eliso,  pileum  de  capite  de- 
turbat."  Vander  Haer,  De  Initiis  Tumult.,  p.  190. 


EG  MO  NT  SENT  TO   SPAIN.  533 

from  the  flattering  attentions  it  thus  paid  to  the  repre 
sentative  of  the  Netherlands. 

During  his  stay,  Egmont  was  admitted  to  several 
audiences,  in  which  he  exposed  to  the  monarch  the 
evils  that  beset  the  country,  and  the  measures  pro 
posed  for  relieving  them.  As  the  two  most  effectual, 
he  pressed  him  to  mitigate  the  edicts  and  to  reorgan 
ize  the  council  of  state.-44  Philip  listened  with  much 
benignity  to  these  suggestions  of  the  Flemish  noble; 
and  if  he  did  not  acquiesce,  he  gave  no  intimation 
to  the  contrary,  except  by  assuring  the  count  of  his 
determination  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  Cath 
olic  faith.  To  Egmont  personally  he  showed  the 
greatest  indulgence,  and  the  count's  private  suits 
sped  as  favorably  as  he  could  have^  expected.  But  a 
remarkable  anecdote  proves  that  Philip  at  this  very 
time,  with  all  this  gracious  demeanor,  had  not  receded 
one  step  from  the  ground  he  had  always  occupied. 

Not  long  after  Egmont's  arrival,  Philip  privately 
called  a  meeting  of  the  most  eminent  theologians  in 
the  capital.  To  this  conclave  he  communicated  briefly 
the  state  of  the  Low  Countries  and  their  demand  to 
enjoy  freedom  of  conscience  in  matters  of  religion. 
He  concluded  by  inquiring  the  opinion  of  his  auditors 
on  the  subject.  The  reverend  body,  doubtless  sup 
posing  that  the  king  only  wanted  their  sanction  to 

**  If  we  are  to  trust  Morillon's  report  to  Granvelle,  Egmont  denied, 
to  some  one  who  charged  him  with  it,  having  recommended  to  Philip 
to  soften  the  edicts.  (Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  Sup 
plement,  p.  374.)  But  Morillon  was  too  much  of  a  gossip  to  be  the 
best  authority ;  and,  as  this  was  understood  to  be  one  of  the  objects 
of  the  count's  mission,  it  will  be  but  justice  to  him  to  take  the  com 
mon  opinion  that  he  executed  it. 


534      CHANGES  DEMANDED   BY   THE   LORDS. 

extricate  himself  from  the  difficulties  of  his  position, 
made  answer,  "that,  considering  the  critical  situation 
of  Flanders,  and  the  imminent  danger,  if  thwarted,  of 
its  disloyalty  to  the  crown  and  total  defection  from  the 
Church,  he  might  be  justified  in  allowing  the  people 
freedom  of  worshipping  in  their  own  way."  To  this 
Philip  sternly  replied,  "  He  had  not  called  them  to 
learn  whether  he  might  grant  this  to  the  Flemings,  but 
whether  he  must  do  so."45  The  flexible  conclave,  find 
ing  they  had  mistaken  their  cue,  promptly  answered  in 
the  negative;  on  which  Philip,  prostrating  himself  on 
the  ground  before  a  crucifix,  exclaimed,  "I  implore 
thy  divine  majesty,  Ruler  of  all  things,  that  thou  keep 
me  in  the  mind  that  I  am  in,  never  to  allow  myself 
either  to  become  or  to  be  called  the  lord  of  those  who 
reject  thee  for  their  Lord."46  The  story  was  told  to 
the  historian  who  records  it  by  a  member  of  the  assem 
bly,  filled  with  admiration  at  the  pious  zeal  of  the  mon 
arch  !  From  that  moment  the  doom  of  the  Netherlands 
was  sealed. 

Yet  Egmont  had  so  little  knowledge  of  the  true 
state  of  things,  that  he  indulged  in  the  most  cheerful 
prognostications  for  the  future.  His  frank  and  cordial 
nature  readily  responded  to  the  friendly  demonstra 
tions  he  received,  and  his  vanity  was  gratified  by  the 

45  "  Negavit  accitos  a  se  illos  fuisse,  ut  docerent  an  permittere  id 
posset,  sed  an  sibi  necessari6  permittendum  prsescriberent."     Strada, 
De  Bello  Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  185. 

46  "Turn  Rex  in  eorum  conspectu,  humi  positus  ante  Christi  Dom 
ini   simulacrum,  '  Ego  vero,  inquit,  Divinam   Majestatem   tuam   oro, 
quoesoque,  Rex  omnium  Deus,  hanc  ut  mihi  mentem  perpetuam  velis, 
ne  illorum,  qui  te  Dominum  respuerint,  uspiam  esse  me  aut  dici 
Dominum  acquiescam.'  "     Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

45* 


EG  MO  NT  SENT   TO   SPAIN.  535 

homage  universally  paid  to  him.  On  leaving  the 
country,  he  made  a  visit  to  the  royal  residences  of 
Segovia  and  of  the  Escorial, — the  magnificent  pile 
already  begun  by  Philip,  and  which  continued  to 
occupy  more  or  less  of  his  time  during  the  remain 
der  of  his  reign.  Egmont,  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
the  king,  declares  himself  highly  delighted  with  what 
he  has  seen  at  both  these  places,  and  assures  his  sove 
reign  that  he  returns  to  Flanders  the  most  contented 
man  in  the  world.47 

When  arrived  there,  early  in  April,  1565,  the  count 
was  loud  in  his  profession  of  the  amiable  dispositions 
of  the  Castilian  court  towards  the  Netherlands.  Eg- 
mont's  countrymen — William  of  Orange  and  a  few- 
persons  of  cooler  judgment  alone  excepted — readily 
indulged  in  the  same  dream  of  sanguine  expectation, 
flattering  themselves  with  the  belief  that  a  new  policy 
was  to  prevail  at  Madri'd,  and  that  their  country  was 
henceforth  to  thrive  under  the  blessings  of  religious 
toleration.  It  was  a  pleasing  illusion,  destined  to  be 
of  no  long  duration. 

47  "  II  retourne  en  Flandre,  1'homme  le  plus  satisfait  du  monde." 
Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  349. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

PHILIP'S    INFLEXIBILITY. 

Philip's  Duplicity. — His  Procrastination. — Despatches  from  Segovia. 
— Effect  on  the  Country. — The  Compromise. — Orange  and  Egmont. 

1565,    1566. 

SHORTLY  after  Egmont's  return  to  Brussels,  Mar 
garet  called  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  state,  at 
which  the  sealed  instructions  brought  by  the  envoy 
from  Madrid  were  opened  and  read.  They  began 
by  noticing  the  count's  demeanor  in  terms  so  flatter 
ing  as  showed  the  mission  bad  proved  acceptable  to 
the  king.  Then  followed  a  declaration,  strongly  ex 
pressed  and  sufficiently  startling.  "I  would  rather 
lose  a  hundred  thousand  lives,  if  I  had  so  many," 
said  the  monarch,  "than  allow  a  single  change  in 
matters  of  religion."1  He,  however,  recommended 
that  a  commission  be  appointed,  consisting  of  three 
bishops  with  a  number  of  jurists,  who  should  advise 
with  the  members  of  the  council  as  to  the  best  mode 
of  instructing  the  people,  especially  in  their  spiritual 
concerns.  It  might  be  well,  moreover,  to  substitute 
some  secret  methods  for  the  public  forms  of  execution, 

1  "  En  ce  qui  touche  la  religion,  il  declare  qu'il  ne  peut  consentir  a 
ce  qu'il  y  soit  fait  quelque  changement ;  qu'il  aimerait  mieux  perdre 
cent  mille  vies,  s'il  les  avait."  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn, 
i.  p.  347. 

(536) 


PHILIP'S  DUPLICITY.  537 

which  now  enabled  the  heretic  to  assume  to  himself  the 
glory  of  martyrdom  and  thereby  produce  a  mischievous 
impression  on  the  people.2  No  other  allusion  was  made 
to  the  pressing  grievances  of  the  nation,  though,  in  a 
letter  addressed  at  the  same  time  to  the  duchess,  Philip 
said  that  he  had  come  to  no  decision  as  to  the  council 
of  state,  where  the  proposed  change  seemed  likely  to 
be  attended  with  inconvenience.3 

This,  then,  was  the  result  of  Egmont's  mission  to 
Madrid  !  this  the  change  so  much  vaunted  in  the 
policy  of  Philip  !  "  The  count  has  been  the  dupe  of 
Spanish  cunning,"  exclaimed  the  prince  of  Orange. 
It  was  too  true ;  and  Egmont  felt  it  keenly,  as  he  per 
ceived  the  ridicule  to  which  he  was  exposed  by  the 
confident  tone  in  which  he  had  talked  of  the  amiable 
dispositions  of  the  Castilian  court,  and  by  the  credit 
he  had  taken  to  himself  for  promoting  them.4 

A  greater  sensation  was  produced  among  the  people; 
for  their  expectations  had  been  far  more  sanguine  than 
those  entertained  by  William  and  the  few  who,  like  him, 
understood  the  character  of  Philip  too  well  to  place 
great  confidence  in  the  promises  of  Egmont.  They 
loudly  declaimed  against  the  king's  insincerity,  and  ac 
cused  their  envoy  of  having  shown  more  concern  for 
his  private  interests  than  for  those  of  the  public.  This 
taunt  touched  the  honor  of  that  nobleman,  who  bitterly 
complained  that  it  was  an  artifice  of  Philip  to  destroy 
his  credit  with  his  countrymen ;  and,  the  better  to  prove 

2  Correspondance  de    Philippe  II.,  ubi  supra. — Strada,  De   Bello 
Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  187. 

3  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  347. 

4  Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  92. 

x* 


538  PHILIP'S  INFLEXIBILITY. 

his  good  faith,  he  avowed  his  purpose  of  throwing  up 
at  once  all  the  offices  he  held  under  the  government.5 

The  spirit  of  persecution,  after  a  temporary  lull, 
now  again  awakened.  But  everywhere  the  inquisitors 
were  exposed  to  insult,  and  met  with  the  same  resist 
ance  as  before ;  while  their  victims  were  cheered  with 
expressions  of  sympathy  from  those  who  saw  them  led 
to  execution.  To  avoid  the  contagion  of  example, 
the  executions  were  now  conducted  secretly  in  the 
prisons.6  But  the  mystery  thus  thrown  around  the 
fate  of  the  unhappy  sufferer  only  invested  it  with  an 
additional  horror.  Complaints  were  made  every  day 
to  the  government  by  the  states,  the  magistrates,  and 
the  people,  denouncing  the  persecutions  to  which  they 
were  exposed.  Spies,  they  said,  were  in  every  house, 
watching  looks,  words,  gestures.  No  man  was  secure, 
either  in  person  or  property.  The  public  groaned 
under  an  intolerable  slavery.7  Meanwhile  the  Hugue 
not  emissaries  were  busy  as  ever  in  propagating  their 
doctrines;  and  with  the  work  of  reform  was  mingled 
the  seed  of  revolution. 

The  regent  felt  the  danger  of  this  state  of  things, 
and  her  impotence  to  relieve  it.  She  did  all  she  could 

5  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  364. 

6  "  And  everywhere  great  endeavors  were  used  to  deliver  the  im 
prisoned,  as  soon  as  it  was  known  how  they  were  privately  made  away 
in  the  prisons :  for  the  inquisitors  not  daring  any  longer  to  carry  them 
to  a  public  execution,  this  new  method  of  despatching  them,  which 
the  king  himself  had  ordered,  was  now  put  in  practice,  and  it  was 
commonly  performed  thus:  They  bound  the  condemned  person  neck 
and  heels,  then  threw  him  into  a  tub  of  water,  where  he  lay  till  he 
was  quite  suffocated."     Brandt,  Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries, 
vol.  i.  p.  155. 

7  Ibid.,  torn.  i.  p.  154. 


HIS  PROCRASTINATION.  539 

in  freely  exposing  it  to  Philip,  informing  him  at  the 
same  time  of  Egmont's  disgust,  and  the  general  dis 
content  of  the  nation,  at  the  instructions  from  Spain. 
She  ended,  as  usual,  by  beseeching  her  brother  to 
come  himself,  if  he  would  preserve  his  authority  in 
the  Netherlands.8  To  these  communications  the  royal 
answers  came  but  rarely,  and,  when  they  did  come, 
were  for  the  most  part  vague  and  unsatisfactory. 

" Everything  goes  on  with  Philip,"  writes  Chanton- 
nay,  formerly  minister  to  France,  to  his  brother  Gran- 
yelle, — "everything  goes  on  from  to-morrow  to  to 
morrow;  the  only  resolution  is,  to  remain  irresolute.9 
The  king  will  allow  matters  to  become  so  entangled  in 
the  Low  Countries  that,  if  he  ever  should  visit  them, 
he  will  find  it  easier  to  conform  to  the  state  of  things 
than  to  mend  it.  The  lords  there  are  more  of  kings 
than  the  king  himself.10  They  have  all  the  smaller 
nobles  in  leading-strings.  It  is  impossible  that  Philip 
should  conduct  himself  like  a  man."  His  only  object 
is  to  cajole  the  Flemish  nobles,  so  that  he  may  be 
spared  the  necessity  of  coming  to  Flanders." 

"  It  is  a  pity,"  writes  the  secretary  Perez,  "that  the 
king  will  manage  affairs  as  he  does,  now  taking  counsel 
of  this  man,  and  now  of  that;  concealing  some  mat 
ters  from  those  he  consults,  and  trusting  them  with 
others, — showing  full  confidence  in  no  one.  With  this 

8  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  361,  et  alibi. 

9  "  Tout  vat  de  demain  a  demain,  et  la  principale  resolution  en 
telles  choses  est  de  demeurer  perpetuellement  irresolu."     Archives  de 
la  Maison  d' Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  426. 

10  "  11  y  en  a  qui  sont  plus  Roys  que  le  Roy."     Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

11  "  Le  Roi  aura  bien  de  la  peine  a  se  montrer  homme."    Ibid.,  ubi 
supra. 


540  PHILIPS  INFLEXIBILITY. 

way  of  proceeding,  it   is  no  wonder  that  despatches 
should  be  contradictory  in  their  tenor."12 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  procrastination  and  distrust 
were  the  besetting  sins  of  Philip,  and  were  followed 
by  their  natural  consequences.  He  had,  moreover,  as 
we  have  seen,  a  sluggishness  of  nature,  which  kept  him 
in  Madrid  when  he  should  have  been  in  Brussels, — 
where  his  father,  in  similar  circumstances,  would  long 
since  have  been,  seeing  with  his  own  eyes  what  Philip 
saw  only  with  the  eyes  of  others.  But  still  his  policy 
in  the  present  instance  may  be  referred  quite  as  much 
to  deliberate  calculation  as  to  his  natural  temper.  He 
had  early  settled  it  as  a  fixed  principle  never  to  con 
cede  religious  toleration  to  his  subjects.  He  had  inti 
mated  this  pretty  clearly  in  his  different  communica 
tions  to  the  government  of  Flanders.  That  he  did  not 
announce  it  in  a  more  absolute  and  unequivocal  form 
may  well  have  arisen  from  the  apprehension  that  in 
the  present  irritable  state  of  the  people  this  might 
rouse  their  passions  into  a  flame.  At  least,  it  might 
be  reserved  for  a  last  resort.  Meanwhile,  he  hoped  to 
weary  them  out  by  maintaining  an  attitude  of  cold 
reserve,  until,  convinced  of  the  hopelessness  of  resist 
ance,  they  would  cease  altogether  to  resist.  In  short, 
he  seemed  to  deal  with  the  Netherlands  like  a  patient 
angler,  who  allows  the  trout  to  exhaust  himself  by  his 
own  efforts,  rather  than  by  a  violent  movement  risk 
the  loss  of  him  altogether.  It  is  clear  Philip  did  not 
understand  the  character  of  the  Netherlander, — as 
dogged  and  determined  as  his  own. 

Considering  the  natural  bent  of  the  king's  disposi- 
Ia  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  358. 

' 


HIS  PROCRASTINATION.  541 

tion,  there  seems  no  reason  to  charge  Granvelle,  as 
was  commonly  done  in  the  Low  Countries,  with  having 
given  a  direction  to  his  policy.  It  is,  however,  certain 
that  on  all  great  questions  the  minister's  judgment 
seems  to  have  perfectly  coincided  with  that  of  his 
master.  "If  your  majesty  mitigates  the  edicts," 
writes  the  cardinal,  "affairs  will  become  worse  in 
Flanders  than  they  are  in  France."13  No  change 
should  be  allowed  in  the  council  of  state.14  A  meet 
ing  of  the  states-general  would  inflict  an  injury  which 
the  king  would  feel  for  thirty  years  to  come.15  Gran 
velle  maintained  a  busy  correspondence  with  his  parti 
sans  in  the  Low  Countries,  and  sent  the  results  of  it — 
frequently  the  original  letters  themselves — to  Madrid. 
Thus  Philip,  by  means  of  the  reports  of  the  great 
nobles  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  Cardinalists  on 
the  other,  was  enabled  to  observe  the  movements  in 
Flanders  from  the  most  opposite  points  of  view. 

The  king's  replies  to  the  letters  of  the  minister  were 
somewhat  scanty,  to  judge  from  the  complaints  which 
Granvelle  made  of  his  neglect.  With  all  this,  the 
cardinal  professes  to  be  well  pleased  that  he  is  rid  of 
so  burdensome  an  office  as  that  of  governing  the 
Netherlands.  "Here,"  he  writes  to  his  friend  Viglius, 
"I  make  good  cheer,  busying  myself  with  my  own 
affairs,  and  preparing  my  despatches  in  quiet,  seldom 
leaving  the  house,  except  to  take  a  walk,  to  attend 

*3  "  Le  Roi  peut  etre  certain  que,  s'il  accorde  que  les  edits  ne  s'exe- 
cutent  pas,  jamais  plus  le  peuple  ne  souffrira  qu'on  chatie  les  here- 
tiques  ;  et  les  choses  iront  ainsi  aux  Pays-Bas  beaucoup  plus  mal  qu'en 
France."  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  323. 

u  Ibid.,  torn.  i.  p.  371. 

XS  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  246. 
Philip.— VOL.  I.  46 


542 


PHILIPS  INFLEXIBILITY. 


church,  or  to  visit  my  mother."  l6  In  this  simple  way 
of  life  the  philosophic  statesman  seems  to  have  passed 
his  time  to  his  own  satisfaction,  though  it  is  evident, 
notwithstanding  his  professions,  that  he  cast  many  a 
longing  look  back  to  the  Netherlands,  the  seat  of  his 
brief  authority.  "The  hatred  the  people  of  Flanders 
bear  me,"  he  writes  to  Philip,  "afflicts  me  sorely;  but 
I  console  myself  that  it  is  for  the  service  of  God  and 
my  king."17  The  cardinal,  amid  his  complaints  of 
the  king's  neglect,  affected  the  most  entire  submission 
to  his  will.  "I  would  go  anywhere,"  he  writes, — "to 
the  Indies,  anywhere  in  the  world, — would  even  throw 
myself  into  the  fire,  did  you  desire  it."18  Philip,  not 
long  after,  put  these  professions  to  the  test.  In  Oc 
tober,  1565,  he  yielded  to  the  regent's  importunities, 
and  commanded  Granvelle  to  transfer  his  residence  to 
Rome.  The  cardinal  would  not  move.  "Anywhere," 
he  wrote  to  his  master,  "  but  to  Rome.  That  is  a 
place  of  ceremonies  and  empty  show,  for  which  I  am 
nowise  qualified.  Besides,  it  would  look  too  much 
like  a  submission  on  your  part.  My  diocese  of  Mechlin 
has  need  of  me;  now,  if  I  should  go  to  Spain,  it  would 
look  as  if  I  went  to  procure  the  aid  which  it  so  much 
requires."  '9  But  the  cabinet  of  Madrid  were  far  from 

16  "  Entendant  seullement  a  mez  affaires,  ne  bougeant  de  ma  cham- 
bre  synon  pour  proumener,  k  faire  exercice  a  1'eglise,  et  vers  Madame, 
et  faisant  mes  depesches  ou  je  doibtz  correspondre,  sans  bruyct." 
Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  ix.  p.  639. 

»7  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  326. 

18  "  II  lui  suffit,  pour  se  contenter  d'etre  ou  il  est,  de  savoir  que 
c'est  la  volonte  du  Roi,  et  cela  lui  suffira  pour  aller  aux  Indes,  ou  en 
quelque  autre  lieu  que  ce  soil,  et  meme  pour  se  Jeter  dans  le  feu." 
Ibid.,  p.  301. 

'9  Ibid.,  p.  380. 


HIS  PROCRASTINATION.  54-, 

desiring  the  presence  of  so  cunning  a  statesman  to 
direct  the  royal  counsels.  The  orders  were  reiterated 
to  go  to  Rome.  To  Rome,  accordingly,  the  re 
luctant  minister  went;  arid  we  have  a  letter  from  him 
to  the  king,  dated  from  that  capital,  the  first  of  Feb 
ruary,  1566,  in  which  he  counsels  his  master  by  no 
means  to  think  of  introducing  the  Spanish  Inquisition 
into  the  Netherlands.20  It  might  seem  as  if,  contrary 
to  the  proverb,  change  of  climate  had  wrought  some 
change  in  the  disposition  of  the  cardinal.  From  this 
period,  Granvelle,  so  long  the  terror  of  the  Low  Coun 
tries,  disappears  from  the  management  of  their  affairs. 
He  does  not,  however,  disappear  from  the  political 
theatre.  We  shall  again  meet  with  the  able  and  am 
bitious  prelate,  first  as  viceroy  of  Naples,  and  after 
wards  at  Madrid  occupying  the  highest  station  in  the 
councils  of  his  sovereign. 

Early  in  July,  1565,  the  commission  of  reform 
appointed  by  Philip  transmitted  its  report  to  Spain. 
It  recommended  no  change  in  the  present  laws,  except 
so  far  as  to  authorize  the  judges  to  take  into  consider 
ation  the  age  and  sex  of  the  accused,  and  in  case  of 
penitence  to  commute  the  capital  punishment  of  the 
convicted  heretic  for  banishment.  Philip  approved  of 
the  report  in  all  particulars, — except  the  only  particular 
that  involved  a  change,  that  of  mercy  to  the  penitent 
heretic.21 

At  length  the  king  resolved  on  such  an  absolute 
declaration  of  his  will  as  should  put  all  doubts  on 
the  matter  at  rest  and  relieve  him  from  further  im- 

20  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn  i.  p.  396. 

21  Ibid.,  p.  372. — Hopper,  Recueil  et  Memorial,  p.  57. 


544 


PHILIP'S  INFLEXIBILITY. 


portunity.  On  the  seventeenth  of  October,  1565,  he 
addressed  that  memorable  letter  to  his  sister  from  the 
Wood  of  Segovia,  which  may  be  said  to  have  deter 
mined  the  fate  of  the  Netherlands.  Philip,  in  this, 
intimates  his  surprise  that  his  letters  should  appear 
to  Egmont  inconsistent  with  what  he  had  heard  from 
his  lips  at  Madrid.  His  desire  was  not  for  novelty 
in  any  thing.  He  would  have  the  Inquisition  con 
ducted  by  the  inquisitors,  as  it  had  hitherto  been, 
and  as  by  right,  divine  and  human,  belonged  to 
them.22  For  the  edicts,  it  was  no  time  in  the  pres 
ent  state  of  religion  to  make  any  change ;  both  his 
own  and  those  of  his  father  must  be  executed.  The 
Anabaptists — a  sect  for  which,  as  the  especial  butt  of 
persecution,  much  intercession  had  been  made — must 
be  dealt  with  according  to  the  rigor  of  the  law. 
Philip  concluded  by  conjuring  the  regent  and  the 
lords  in  the  council  faithfully  to  obey  his  commands, 
as  in  so  doing  they  would  render  the  greatest  service 
to  the  cause  of  religion  and  of  their  country, — which 
last,  he  adds,  without  the  execution  of  these  ordi 
nances,  would  be  of  little  worth.23 

In  a  private  letter  to  the  regent  of  nearly  the  same 
date  with  these  public  despatches,  Philip  speaks  of 
the  proposed  changes  in  the  council  of  state  as  a 
subject  on  which  he  had  not  made  up  his  mind.24 

»  "  Car,  quant  a  1'inquisition,  mon  intention  est  qu'elle  se  face  par 
les  inquisiteurs,  comm'elle  s'est  faicte  jusques  a  maintenant,  et  comm'il 
leur  appertient  par  droitz  divins  et  humains."  Correspondance  de 
Philippe  II.,  torn,  i.,  "  Rapport,"  p.  cxxix,  note. 

23  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

2*  This  letter  was  dated  the  twentieth  of  October.  All  hesitation 
seems  to  have  vanished  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Granvelle  only  two 


DESPATCHES  FROM  SEGOVIA.  545 

He  notices  also  the  proposed  convocation  of  the 
states-general  as  a  thing,  in  the  present  disorders 
of  the  country,  altogether  inexpedient.25  Thus  the 
king's  despatches  covered  nearly  all  the  debatable 
ground  on  which  the  contest  had  been  so  long  going 
on  between  the  crown  and  the  country.  There  could 
be  no  longer  any  complaint  of  ambiguity  or  reserve 
in  the  expression  of  the  royal  will.  "God  knows," 
writes  Viglius,  "what  wry  faces  were  made  in  the 
council  on  learning  the  absolute  will  of  his  majesty!"  2& 
There  was  not  one  of  its  members,  not  even  the  presi 
dent  or  Barlaimont,  who  did  not  feel  the  necessity  of 
bending  to  the  tempest  so  far  as  to  suspend,  if  not  to 
mitigate,  the  rigor  of  the  law.  They  looked  to  the 
future  with  gloomy  apprehension.  Viglius  strongly 
urged  that  the  despatches  should  not  be  made  public 
till  some  further  communication  should  be  had  with 
Philip  to  warn  him  of  the  consequences.  In  this  he 
was  opposed  by  the  prince  of  Orange.  "It  was  too 
late,"  he  said,  "to  talk  of  what  was  expedient  to  be 
done.  Since  the  will  of  his  majesty  was  so  unequivo 
cally  expressed,  all  that  remained  for  the  government 
was  to  execute  it."27  In  vain  did  Viglius  offer  to 
take  the  whole  responsibility  of  the  delay  on  himself. 

days  after,  in  which  Philip  says,  "  As  to  the  proposed  changes  in  the 
government,  there  is  not  a  question  about  them."  "Quant  aux 
changements  qu'on  lui  a  ecrit  devoir  se  faire  dans  le  gouvernement,  il 
n'en  est  pas  question."  Correspondance  de  Philippe  1 1.,  torn.  i.  p.  375. 

25  Documentos  ineditos,  torn.  iv.  p.  333. 

26  "  Dieu  S9ait  que  visaiges  ils  ont  monstrez,  et  que  mescontente- 
ment  ils  ont,  voyans  1'absolute  volunte  du  Roy."     Archives  de  la 
Maison  d' Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  442. 

*7  Hopper,  Recueil  et  Memorial,  p.  59. 
46* 


546  PHILIP'S  INFLEXIBILITY. 

William's  opinion,  supported  by  Egmont  and  Hoorne, 
prevailed  with  the  regent,  too  timid,  by  such  an  act 
of  disobedience,  to  hazard  the  displeasure  of  her 
brother.  As.  late  in  the  evening,  the  council  broke 
up,  William  was  heard  to  exclaim,  "  Now  we  shall 
see  the  beginning  of  a  fine  tragedy  S"  28 

In  the  month  of  December,  the  regent  caused  copies 
of  the  despatches,  with  extracts  from  the  letters  to 
herself,  to  be  sent  to  the  governors  and  the  councils 
of  the  several  provinces,  with  orders  that  they  should 
see  to  their  faithful  execution.  Officers,  moreover, 
were  to  be  appointed,  whose  duty  it  was  to  ascertain 
the  manner  in  which  these  orders  were  fulfilled,  and 
to  report  thereon  to  the  government. 

The  result  was  what  had  been  foreseen.  The  pub 
lication  of  the  despatches — to  borrow  the  words  of  a 
Flemish  writer — created  a  sensation  throughout  the 
country  little  short  of  what  would  have  been  caused 
by  a  declaration  of  war.29  Under  every  discourage 
ment,  men  had  flattered  themselves,  up  to  this  period, 
with  the  expectation  of  some  change  for  the  better. 
The  constantly  increasing  number  of  the  Reformers, 
the  persevering  resistance  to  the  Inquisition,  the  reit 
erated  remonstrances  to  the  government,  the  general 
persuasion  that  the  great  nobles,  even  the  regent, 
were  on  their  side,  had  all  combined  to  foster  the 
hope  that  toleration,  to  some  extent,  would  eventu- 

28  "  Qua  conclusione  accepta,  Princeps  Auriacencis  cuidam  in  aurem 
dixit  (qui  post  id  retulit)  quasi  laetus  gloriabundusque :  visuros  nos 
brevi  egregiae  tragediae  initium."     Vita  Viglii,  p.  45. 

29  "  Une  declaration  de  guerre  n'aurait  pas  fait  plus  d'impression 
sur  les  esprits,  que  ces  depeches,  quand  la  connaissance  en  parvint  au 
public."     Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  94. 


EFFECT  ON  THE   COUNTRY.  547 

ally  be  conceded  by  Philip.30  This  hope  was  now 
crushed.  Whatever  doubts  had  been  entertained  were 
dispelled  by  these  last  despatches,  which  came  like  a 
hurricane,  sweeping  away  the  ir.ists  that  had  so  long 
blinded  the  eyes  of  men,  and  laying  open  the  policy 
of  the  crown,  clear  as  day,  to  the  dullest  apprehen 
sion.  The  people  passed  to  the  extremity  of  despair. 
The  Spanish  Inquisition,  with  its  train  of  horrors, 
seemed  to  be  already  in  the  midst  of  them.  They 
called  to  mind  all  the  tales  of  woe  they  had  heard 
of  it.  They  recounted  the  atrocities  perpetrated  by 
the  Spaniards  in  the  New  World,  which,  however 
erroneously,  they  charged  on  the  Holy  Office.  "  Do 
they  expect,"  they  cried,  "that  we  shall  tamely  wait 
here,  like  the  wretched  Indians,  to  be  slaughtered  by 
millions?"31  Men  were  seen  gathering  into  knots, 
in  the  streets  and  public  squares,  discussing  the  con 
duct  of  the  government,  and  gloomily  talking  of 
secret  associations  and  foreign  alliances.  Meetings 

3°  "  Se  comienza  a  dar  esperanza  al  pueblo  de  la  libertad  de  conci- 
encia,  de  las  mudanzas  del  gobierno."  Renom  de  Francia,  Alborotos 
de  Flandes,  MS. — "  Some  demand  a  mitigation  of  the  edicts;  others," 
as  Viglius  peevishly  complains  to  Granvelle,  "  say  that  they  want  at 
least  as  much  toleration  as  is  vouchsafed  to  Christians  by  the  Turks, 
who  do  not  persecute  the  enemies  of  their  faith  as  we  persecute 
brethren  of  our  own  faith  for  a  mere  difference  in  the  interpretation 
of  Scripture!"  (Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p. 
287.)  Viglius  was  doubtless  of  the  opinion  of  M.  Gerlache,  that  for 
Philip  to  have  granted  toleration  would  have  proved  the  signal  for  a 
general  massacre.  Vide  Hist,  du  Royaume  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  i. 
p.  83. 

31  "  On  defiait  les  Espagnols  de  trouver  aux  Pays-Bas  ces  stupides 
Americains  et  ces  miserables  habitans  du  Perou,  qu'on  avait  egorges 
par  millions,  quand  on  avait  vu  qu'ils  ne  savaient  pas  se  de"fendre." 
Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  i.  p.  97. 


548  PHILIP'S  INFLEXIBILITY. 

were  stealthily  held  in  the  woods,  and  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  great  towns,  where  the  audience  listened  to 
fanatical  preachers,  who,  while  discussing  the  doc 
trines  of  religious  reform,  darkly  hinted  at  resistance. 
Tracts  were  printed,  and  widely  circulated,  in  which 
the  reciprocal  obligations  of  lord  and  vassal  were 
treated,  and  the  right  of  resistance  was  maintained; 
and  in  some  instances  these  difficult  questions  were 
handled  with  decided  ability.  A  more  common  form 
was  that  of  satire  and  scurrilous  lampoon, — a  favorite 
weapon  with  the  early  Reformers.  Their  satirical 
sallies  were  levelled  indifferently  at  the  throne  and 
the  Church.  The  bishops  were  an  obvious  mark. 
No  one  was  spared.  Comedies  were  written  to  ridi 
cule  the  clergy.  Never  since  the  discovery  of  the 
art  of  printing — more  than  a  century  before — had 
the  press  been  turned  into  an  engine  of  such  political 
importance  as  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  revolution 
in  the  Netherlands.  Thousands  of  the  seditious  pam 
phlets  thus  thrown  off  were  rapidly  circulated  among  a 
people  the  humblest  of  whom  possessed  what  many  a 
noble  in-other  lands,  at  that  day,  was  little  skilled  in, — 
the  art  of  reading.  Placards  were  nailed  to  the  doors 
of  the  magistrates,  in  some  of  the  cities,  proclaiming 
that  Rome  stood  in  need  of  her  Brutus.  Others  were 
attached  to  the  gates  of  Orange  and  Egmont,  calling 
on  them  to  come  forth  and  save  their  country.32 

Margaret  was  filled  with  alarm  at  these  signs  of 
disaffection  throughout  the  land.  She  felt  the  ground 
trembling  beneath  her.  She  wrote  again  and  again  to 

3»  See  a  letter  of  Morillon  to  Granvelle,  January  27th,  1566,  Archives 
de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  Supplement,  p.  22. 


EFFECT  ON   THE   COUNTRY.  549 

Philip,  giving  full  particulars  of  the  state  of  the  pub 
lic  sentiment,  and  the  seditious  spirit  which  seemed 
on  the  verge  of  insurrection.  She  intimated  her  wish 
to  resign  the  government.33  She  besought  him  to 
allow  the  states-general  to  be  summoned,  and,  at  all 
events,  to  come  in  person  and  take  the  reins  from  her 
hands,  too  weak  to  hold  them.  Philip  coolly  replied 
that  he  was  sorry  the  despatches  from  Segovia  had 
given  such  offence.  They  had  been  designed  only  for 
the  service  of  God  and  the  good  of  the  country."34 

In  this  general  fermentation,  a  new  class  of  men  came 
on  the  stage,  important  by  their  numbers,  though  they 
had  taken  no  part  as  yet  in  political  affairs.  These 
were  the  lower  nobility  of  the  country,  men  of  honor 
able  descent,  and  many  of  them  allied  by  blood  or 
marriage  with  the  highest  nobles  of  the  land.  They 
were  too  often  men  of  dilapidated  fortunes,  fallen  into 
decay  through  their  own  prodigality  or  that  of  their  pro 
genitors.  Many  had  received  their  education  abroad, 
some  in  Geneva,  the  home  of  Calvin,  where  they  natu 
rally  imbibed  the  doctrines  of  the  great  Reformer.  In 
needy  circumstances,  with  no  better  possession  than 
the  inheritance  of  honorable  traditions  or  the  memory 
of  better  days,  they  were  urged  by  a  craving,  impatient 
spirit,  which  naturally  made  them  prefer  any  change  to 
the  existing  order  of  things.  They  were,  for  the  most 
part,  bred  to  arms,  and  in  the  days  of  Charles  the 
Fifth  had  found  an  ample  career  opened  to  their  am- 

33  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  390. 

34  "  II  a  appris  avec  peine  que  le  contenu  de  sa  lettre,  datee  du  bois 
de  Segovie,  aete  mal  accueilli  aux  Pnys-Bas.  ses  intentions  ne  tendant 
qu'au  service  de  Dieu  et  au  bien  de  ces  Etats,  comme  1'amour  qu'i] 
leur  porte  1'y  oblige."     Ibid.,  p.  400. 


550 


PHILIP'S   INFLEXIBILITY. 


bition  under  the  imperial  banners.  But  Philip,  with 
less  policy  than  his  father,  had  neglected  to  court  this 
class  of  his  subjects,  who,  without  fixed  principles  or 
settled  motives  of  action,  seemed  to  float  on  the  sur 
face  of  events,  prepared  to  throw  their  weight,  at  any 
moment,  into  the  scale  of  revolution. 

Some  twenty  of  these  cavaliers,  for  the  most  part 
young  men,  met  together  in  the  month  of  November, 
in  Brussels,  at  the  house  of  Count  Culemborg,*  a  noble 
man  attached  to  the  Protestant  opinions.  Their  avowed 
purpose  was  to  listen  to  the  teachings  of  a  Flemish  di 
vine,  named  Junius,  a  man  of  parts  and  learning,  who 
had  been  educated  in  the  school  of  Calvin,  and  who, 
having  returned  to  the  Netherlands,  exercised,  under 
the  very  eye  of  the  regent,  the  dangerous  calling  of  the 
missionary.  At  this  meeting  of  the  discontented  nobles 
the  talk  naturally  turned  on  the  evils  of  the  land  and 
the  best  means  of  remedying  them.  The  result  of  the 
conferences  was  the  formation  of  a  league,  the  princi 
pal  objects  of  which  are  elaborately  set  forth  in  a  paper 
known  as  the  "Compromise."35 

35  Historians  have  usually  referred  the  origin  of  the  "  Union"  to  a 
meeting  of  nine  nobles  at  Breda,  as  reported  by  Strada.  (De  Bello 
Belgico,  torn.  i.  p'.  208.)  But  we  have  the  testimony  of  Junius  him 
self  to  the  fact,  as  stated  in  the  text ;  and  this  testimony  is  accepted 
by  Groen,  who  treads  with  a  caution  that  secures  him  a  good  footing 
even  in  the  slippery  places  of  history.  (See  Archives  de  la  Maison 
d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  ii.  p.  2.)  Brandt  also  adopts  the  report  of 
Junius.  (Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries,  torn.  i.  p.  162.) 


*  [The  proper  orthography  of  this  name  is  Kuilenburg ;  but,  like 
some  other  Dutch  and  Flemish  names  connected  with  the  history  of 
this  period,  it  has  become  familiar  to  English  readers  in  the  form  used 
by  French  authorities. — ED.] 


THE    COMPROMISE.  55  x 

This  celebrated  document  declares  that  the  king  had 
been  induced  by  evil  counsellors, — for  the  most  part 
foreigners, — in  violation  of  his  oath,  to  establish  the 
Inquisition  in  the  country;  a  tribunal  opposed  to  all 
law,  divine  and  human,  surpassing  in  barbarity  any 
thing  ever  yet  practised  by  tyrants,36  tending  to  bring 
the  land  to  utter  ruin,  and  the  inhabitants  to  a  state 
of  miserable  bondage.  The  confederates,  therefore, 
in  order  not  to  become  the  prey  of  those  who,  under 
the  name  of  religion,  seek  only  to  enrich  themselves 
at  the  expense  of  life  and  property,37  bind  them 
selves  by  a  solemn  oath  to  resist  the  establishment  of 
the  Inquisition,  under  whatever  form  it  may  be  intro 
duced,  and  to  protect  each  other  against  it  with  their 
lives  and  fortunes.  In  doing  this,  they  protest  that, 
so  far  from  intending  anything  to  the  dishonor  of  the 
king,  their  only  intent  is  to  maintain  the  king  in  his 
estate,  and  to  preserve  the  tranquillity  of  the  realm. 
They  conclude  with  solemnly  invoking  the  blessing  of 
the  Almighty  on  this  their  lawful  and  holy  confedera 
tion, 

Such  are  some  of  the  principal  points  urged  in  this 
remarkable  instrument,  in  which  little  mention  is  made 
of  the  edicts,  every  other  grievance  being  swallowed 

36  "  Inique  et  contraire  a  toutes  loix  divines  et  humaines,  surpassant 
la  plus  grande  barbarie  que  oncques  fut  practiquee  entre  les  tirans." 
Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  ii.  p.  3. — One  might 
imagine  that  the  confederates  intended  in  the  first  part  of  this  sentence 
to  throw  the  words  of  Philip  back  upon  himself, — "  comme  il  leu- 
appertient  par  droitz  divins  et  humains."     Depeche  du  Bois  de  Sego > 
vie,  October  I7th,  1565. 

37  "  Affin  de  n'estre  exposez  en  proye  a  ceulx  qui,  soubs  ombre  de 
religion,  voudroient  s'enrichir  aux  despens  de  nostre  sang  et  de  nos 
biens."     Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  ii.  p.  4. 


552 


PHILIP'S  INFLEXIBILITY. 


up  in  that  of  the  detested  Inquisition.  Indeed,  the 
translations  of  the  "Compromise,"  which  soon  ap 
peared,  in  various  languages,  usually  bore  the  title  of 
"League  of  the  Nobles  of  Flanders  against  the  Spanish 
Inquisition."38 

It  will  hardly  be  denied  that  those  who  signed  this 
instrument  had  already  made  a  decided  move  in  the 
game  of  rebellion.  They  openly  arrayed  themselves 
against  the  execution  of  the  law  and  the  authority  of 
the  crown.  They  charged  the  king  with  having  vio 
lated  his  oath,  and  they  accused  him  of  abetting  a 
persecution  which,  under  the  pretext  of  religion,  had 
no  other  object  than  the  spoil  of  its  victims.  It  was 
of  little  moment  that  all  this  was  done  under  profes 
sions  of  loyalty.  Such  professions  are  the  decent 
cover  with  which  the  first  approaches  are  always  made 
in  a  revolution.  The  copies  of  the  instrument  differ 
somewhat  from  each  other.  One  of  these,  before  me, 
as  if  to  give  the  edge  of  personal  insult  to  their  re 
monstrance,  classes  in  the  same  category  "the  vaga 
bond,  the  priest,  and  the  Spaniard" 39 

Among  the  small  company  who  first  subscribed  the 
document  we  find  names  that  rose  to  eminence  in  the 
stormy  scenes  of  the  revolution.  There  was  Count 
Louis  of  Nassau,  a  younger  brother  of  the  prince  of 
Orange,  the  "  bon  chevalier,"  as  William  used  to  call 
him, — a  title  well  earned  by  his  generous  spirit  and 
many  noble  and  humane  qualities.  Louis  was  bred  a 

38  Vandervynckt,  Troubles  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  ii.  p.  134. 

39  "  De  sorte  que  si  tin  Prestre,  un  Espagnol,  ou  quelque  mauvais 
garnemen-t  veut  mal,  ou  nuyre  a  autruy,  par  le  moyen  de  1'Inquisition, 
il  pourra  1'accuser,  faire  apprehender,  voire  faire  mourir,  soit  a  droit, 
soit  a  tort."     Supplement  a  Strada,  torn.  ii.  p.  300. 


THE    COMPROMISE.  553 

Lutheran,  and  was  zealously  devoted  to  the  cause  of 
reform  when  his  brother  took  but  a  comparatively 
languid  interest  in  it.  His  ardent,  precipitate  temper 
was  often  kept  in  check,  and  more  wisely  directed,  by 
the  prudent  counsels  of  William ;  while  he  amply  re 
paid  his  brother  by  his  devoted  attachment,  and  by 
the  zeal  and  intrepidity  with  which  he  carried  out  his 
plans.  Louis,  indeed,  might  be  called  the  right  hand 
of  William. 

Another  of  the  party  was  Philip  de  Marnix,  lord  of 
St.  Aldegonde.  He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  William 
of  Orange.  In  the  words  of  a  Belgian  writer,  he  was 
one  of  the  beautiful  characters  of  the  time ; 40  distin 
guished  alike  as  a  soldier,  a  statesman,  and  a  scholar. 
It  is  to  his  pen  that  the  composition  of  the  "Compro 
mise"  has  generally  been  assigned.  Some  critics  have 
found  its  tone  inconsistent  with  the  sedate  and  tranquil 
character  of  his  mind.  Yet  St.  Aldegonde's  device, 
"  Repos  ailleurs"*1  would  seem  to  indicate  a  fervid 
imagination  and  an  impatient  spirit  of  activity. 

But  the  man  who  seems  to  have  entered  most  heartily 
into  these  first  movements  of  the  revolution  was  Henry, 
viscount  of  Brederode.  He  sprang  from  an  ancient  line, 
boasting  his  descent  from  the  counts  of  Holland.  The 
only  possession  that  remained  to  him,  the  lordship  of 
Viana,  he  still  claimed  to  hold  as  independent  of  the 
king  of  Spain  or  any  other  potentate.  His  patrimony 
had  been  wasted  in  a  course  of  careless  indulgence, 
and  little  else  was  left  than  barren  titles  and  preten- 

4°  "  L'un  des  beaux  caracteres  de  ce  temps."  Borguet,  Philippe  II. 
et  la  Belgique,  p.  43. 

41  Ibid.,  ubi  supra.  • 

Philip. — VOL.  I. — Y  47 


554 


PHILIP'S  INFLEXIBILITY. 


sions, — which,  it  must  be  owned,  he  was  not  diffident 
in  vaunting.  He  was  fond  of  convivial  pleasures,  and 
had  a  free,  reckless  humor,  that  took  with  the  people, 
to  whom  he  was  still  more  endeared  by  his  sturdy 
hatred  of  oppression.  Brederode  was,  in  short,  one 
of  those  busy,  vaporing  characters  who  make  them 
selves  felt  at  the  outset  of  a  revolution,  but  are  soon 
lost  in  the  course  of  it ;  like  those  ominous  birds 
which  with  their  cries  and  screams  herald  in  the  tem 
pest  that  soon  sweeps  them  out  of  sight  forever. 

Copies  of  the  "Compromise,"  with  the  names  at 
tached  to  it,  were  soon  distributed  through  all  parts  of 
the  country,  and  eagerly  signed  by  great  numbers,  not 
merely  of  the  petty  nobility  and  gentry,  but  of  sub 
stantial  burghers  and  wealthy  merchants,  men  who  had 
large  interests  at  stake  in  the  community.  Hames, 
king-at-arms  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  who  was  a  zealous 
confederate,  boasted  that  the  names  of  two  thousand 
such  persons  were  on  his  paper.42  Among  them  were 
many  Roman  Catholics  ;  and  we  are  again  called  to 
notice  that  in  the  outset  this  Protestant  revolution 
received  important  support  from  the  Catholics  them 
selves,  who  forgot  all  religious  differences  in  a  common 
hatred  of  arbitrary  power. 

Few,  if  any,  of  the  great  nobles  seem  to  have  been 
among  the  number  of  those  who  signed  the  "Compro 
mise," — certainly  none  of  the  council  of  state.  It 
would  hardly  have  done  to  invite  one  of  the  royal 
councillors — in  other  words,  one  of  the  government — 
to  join  the  confederacy,  when  they  would  have  been 
bound  by  the  obligations  of  their  office  to  disclose  it 

*»  Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  209. 


THE   COMPROMISE.  $^ 

to  the  regent.  But  if  the  great  lords  did  not  become 
actual  parties  to  the  league,  they  showed  their  sym 
pathy  with  the  object  of  it,  by  declining  to  enforce 
the  execution  of  the  laws  against  which  it  was  directed. 
On  the  twenty-fourth  of  January,  1566,  the  prince  of 
Orange  addressed,  from  Breda,  a  letter  to  the  regent, 
on  the  occasion  of  her  sending  him  the  despatches 
from  Segovia  for  the  rule  of  his  government  in  the 
provinces.  In  this  remarkable  letter,  William  exposes, 
with  greater  freedom  than  he  was  wont,  his  reasons  for 
refusing  to  comply  with  the  royal  orders.  "I  express 
myself  freely  and  frankly,"  he  says,  "on  a  topic  on 
which  I  have  not  been  consulted ;  but  I  do  so  lest  by 
my  silence  I  may  incur  the  responsibility  of  the  mis 
chief  that  must  ensue."  He  then  briefly,  and  in  a 
decided  tone,  touches  on  the  evils  of  the  Inquisition, 
— introduced,  as  he  says,  contrary  to  the  repeated 
pledges  of  the  king, — and  on  the  edicts.  Great  indul 
gence  had  been  of  late  shown  in  the  interpretation  of 
these  latter ;  and  to  revive  them  on  a  sudden,  so  as  to 
execute  them  with  their  ancient  rigor,  would  be  most 
disastrous.  There  could  not  be  a  worse  time  than  the 
present,  when  the  people  were  sorely  pressed  by  scarcity 
of  food,  and  in  a  critical  state  from  the  religious  agita 
tions  on  their  borders.  It  might  cost  the  king  his 
empire  in  the  Netherlands,  and  throw  it  into  the  hands 
of  his  neighbors.43 

"  For  my  own  part,"  he  concludes,  "  if  his  majesty 
insists  on  the  execution  of  these  measures,  rather  than 
incur  the  stain  which  must  rest  on  me  and  my  house  by 

43  "  Mettant  le  tout  en  hazard  de  venir  £s  mains  de  nos  voisins." 
Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn.  ii.  p.  109. 


556  PHILIPS  INFLEXIBILITY. 

attempting  it,  I  will  resign  my  office  into  the  hands  of 
some  one  better  acquainted  with  the  humors  of  the 
people,  and  who  will  be  better  able  to  maintain  order 
in  the  country."44 

In  the  same  tone  several  of  the  other  provincial  gov 
ernors  replied  to  Margaret,  declaring  that  they  could 
never  coolly  stand  by  and  see  fifty  or  sixty  thousand 
of  their  countrymen  burned  to  death  for  errors  of  re 
ligion.43  The  regent  was  sorely  perplexed  by  this  deser 
tion  of  the  men  on  whom  she  most  relied.  She  wrote 
to  them  in  a  strain  of  expostulation,  and  besought  the 
prince,  in  particular,  not  to  add  to  the  troubles  of  the 
time  by  abandoning  his  post,  where  the  attachment  of 
the  people  gave  him  such  unbounded  influence.46 

The  agitations  of  the  country,  in  the  mean  time,  con 
tinued  to  increase.  There  was  a  scarcity  of  bread, — 
so  often  the  forerunner  of  revolution, — and  this  article 
had  risen  to  an  enormous  price.  The  people  were 
menaced  with  famine,  which  might  have  led  to  serious 
consequences,  but  for  a  temporary  relief  from  Spain.47 

Rumors  now  began  to  be  widely  circulated  of  the 

44  "  J'aimerois  mieulx,  en  cas  que  Sadicte   Majeste  ne  le  veuille 
dilaier  jusques  a  la,  et  des  a  present  persiste  sur  cette  inquisition  et 
execution,  qu'elle  commisse  quelque  autreen  ma  place,  mieulx  enten- 
dant  les  humeurs  du  peuple,  et  plus  habile  que  moi  a  les  maintenir  en 
paix  et  repos,  plustost  que  d'encourir  la  note  dont  moi  et  les  miens 
porrions  estre  souilles,  si  quelque  inconvenient  advint  au  pays  de  mon 
gouvernement,  et  durant  ma  charge."    Correspondance  de  Guillaume 
le  Taciturne,  torn.  ii.  p.  109. 

45  "  Addidere  aliqui,  nolle  se  in  id  operam  conferre,  ut  quinquaginta 
aut  sexaginta  hominum   millia,  se   Provincias  administrantibus,  igni 
concrementur."     Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  203. 

&  Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Taciturne,  torn.  ii.  p.  1 12. 
47  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  378. 


ALARM  OF  THE   COUNTRY.  557 

speedy  coming  of  Philip,  with  a  large  army,  to  chastise 
his  vassals ;  and  the  rumors  gained  easy  credit  with 
those  who  felt  they  were  already  within  the  pale  of  re 
bellion.  Duke  Eric  of  Brunswick  was  making  numerous 
levies  on  the  German  borders,  and  it  was  generally  be 
lieved  that  their  destination  was  Flanders.  It  was  in 
vain  that  Margaret,  who  ascertained  the  falsehood  of 
the  report,  endeavored  to  undeceive  the  people.48 

A  short  time  previously,  in  the  month  of  June,  an 
interview  had  taken  place,  at  Bayonne,  between  the 
queen-mother,  Catherine  de  Medicis,  and  her  daughter, 
Isabella  of  Spain.  Instead  of  her  husband,  Isabella 
was  accompanied  at  this  interview  by  the  counsellor  in 
whom  he  most  trusted,  the  duke  of  Alva.  The  two 
queens  were  each  attended  by  a  splendid  retinue  of 
nobles.  The  meeting  was  prolonged  for  several  days, 
amidst  a  succession  of  balls,  tourneys,  and  magnificent 
banquets,  at  which  the  costly  dress  and  equipage  of  the 
French  nobility  contrasted  strangely  enough  with  the  no 
less  ostentatious  simplicity  of  the  Spaniards.  This  sim 
plicity,  so  contrary  to  the  usual  pomp  of  the  Castilian, 
was  in  obedience  to  the  orders  of  Philip,  who,  fore 
seeing  the  national  emulation,  forbade  the  indulgence 
of  it  at  a  foolish  cost,  which  in  the  end  was  severely 
felt  by  the  shattered  finances  of  France. 

Amid  the  brilliant  pageants  which  occupied  the 
public  eye,  secret  conferences  were  daily  carried  on 
between  Catherine  and  the  duke  of  Alva.  The  results 
were  never  published,  but  enough  found  its  way  into 
the  light  to  show  that  the  principal  object  was  the 
extermination  of  heresy  in  France  and  the  Nether- 

&  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  ii.  p.  33. 
47* 


558  PHTLIP'S  INFLEXIBILITY. 

lands.  The  queen-mother  was  for  milder  measures, — 
though  slower  not  less  sure.  But  the  iron-hearted  duke 
insisted  that  to  grant  liberty  of  conscience  was  to  grant 
unbounded  license.  The  only  way  to  exterminate  the 
evil  was  by  fire  and  sword  !  It  was  on  this  occasion 
that,  when  Catherine  suggested  that  it  was  easier  to 
deal  with  the  refractory  commons  than  with  the  nobles, 
Alva  replied,  "True,  but  ten  thousand  frogs  are  not 
worth  the  head  of  a  single  salmon,"49 — an  ominious 
simile,  which  was  afterwards  remembered  against  its 
author  when  he  ruled  over  the  Netherlands.50 

The  report  of  these  dark  conferences  had  reached 
the  Low  Countries,  where  it  was  universally  believed 
that  the  object  of  them  was  to  secure  the  co-operation 
of  France  in  crushing  the  liberties  of  Flanders.51 

49  "  A  ce  propos  le  due  d'Albe  repondit  que  dix  mille  grenouilles  ne 
valoient  pas  la  tete  d'un  saumon."  Sismondi,  Hist,  des  Frar^ais,  torn, 
xviii.  p.  447. — Davila,  in  telling  the  same  story,  reports  the  saying  of 
the  duke  in  somewhat  different  words :  "  Diseva  che  .  .  .  besognava 
pescare  i  pesci  grossi,  e  non  si  curare  di  prendere  le  ranocchie." 
Guerre  civili  di  Francia  (Milano,  1807),  torn.  i.  p.  341. 

so  Henry  the  Fourth,  when  a  boy  of  eleven  years  of  age,  was  in  the 
train  of  Catherine,  and  was  present  at  one  of  her  interviews  with  Alva. 
It  is  said  that  he  overheard  the  words  of  the  duke  quoted  in  the  text, 
and  that  they  sank  deep  into  the  mind  of  the  future  champion  of 
Protestantism.  Henry  reported  them  to  his  mother,  Jeanne  d'Albret, 
by  whom  they  were  soon  made  public.  Sismondi,  Hist,  des  Fran9ais, 
torn,  xviii.  p.  447. — For  the  preceding  paragraph  see  also  De  Thou, 
Hist,  universelle,  torn.  v.  p.  34,  et  seq. — Cabrera,  Filipe  Segundo,  lib. 
vi.  cap.  23. — Brantome,  CEuvres,  torn.  v.  p.  58,  et  seq. 

si  It  is  a  common  opinion  that  at  the  meeting  at  Bayonne  it  was 
arranged  between  the  queen-mother  and  Alva  to  revive  the  tragedy 
of  the  Sicilian  Vespers  in  the  horrid  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew.  I 
find,  however,  no  warrant  for  such  an  opinion  in  the  letters  of  either 
the  duke  or  Don  Juan  Manrique  de  Lara,  major-domo  to  Queen 
Isabella,  the  originals  of  which  are  still  preserved  in  the  Royal  Library 


ALARM  OF   THE    COUNTRY.  559 

In  the  panic  thus  spread  throughout  the  country,  the 
more  timid  or  prudent,  especially  of  those  who  dwelt 
in  the  sea-ports,  began  to  take  measures  for  avoiding 
these  evils  by  emigration.  They  sought  refuge  in 
Protestant  states,  and  especially  in  England,  where  no 
less  than  thirty  thousand,  we  are  told  by  a  contem 
porary,  took  shelter  under  the  sceptre  of  Elizabeth.52 
They  swarmed  in  the  cities  of  London  and  Sandwich, 
and  the  politic  queen  assigned  them  also  the  sea-port 
of  Norwich*  as  their  residence.  Thus  Flemish  industry 

at  Paris.  In  my  copy  of  these  MSS.  the  letters  of  Alva  to  Philip  the 
Second  cover  much  the  largest  space.  They  are  very  minute  in 
their  account  of  his  conversation  with  the  queen-mother.  His  great 
object  seems  to  have  been  to  persuade  her  to  abandon  her  temporizing 
policy,  and,  instead  of  endeavoring  to  hold  the  balance  between  the 
contending  parties,  to  assert,  in  the  most  uncompromising  manner, 
the  supremacy  of  the  Roman  Catholics.  He  endeavored  to  fortify 
her  in  this  course  by  the  example  of  his  own  master,  the  king  of 
Spain,  repeating  Philip's  declaration,  so  often  quoted,  under  various 
forms,  that  "he  would  surrender  his  kingdom,  nay,  life  itself,  rather 
than  reign  over  heretics."  While  the  duke  earnestly  endeavored  to 
overcome  the  arguments  of  Catherine  de  Medicis  in  favor  of  a  milder, 
more  rational,  and,  it  may  be  added,  more  politic  course  in  reference 
to  the  Huguenots,  he  cannot  justly  be  charged  with  having  direct'y 
recommended  those  atrocious  measures  which  have  branded  her  name 
with  infamy.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  this  bloody 
catastrophe  was  a  legitimate  result  of  the  policy  which  he  advised. 

52  "  On  voit  journellement  gens  de  ce  pays  aller  en  Angleterre,  avec 
leurs  families  et  leurs  instruments  ;  et  ja  Londres,  Zandvich  et  le  pays 
allenviron  est  si  plain,  que  Ton  dit  que  le  noinbre  surpasse  30,000 
testes."  Assonleville  to  Granvelle,  January  I5th,  1565,  Correspon- 
dance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  392. 


*  [Sandwich  is  not  a  city,  and  Norwich,  though  accessible  to  vessels 
of  small  tonnage,  is  not  a  sea-port ;  but  in  the  sixteenth  century  both 
places  were  relatively  more  important  than  they  now  are,  and  had  a 
direct  trade  with  Antwerp. — ED.] 


56° 


PHIL  IP '  S  INFL  EXIBIL 1TY. 


was  transferred  to  English  soil.  The  course  of  trade 
between  the  two  nations  now  underwent  a  change. 
The  silk  and  woollen  stuffs  which  had  formerly  been 
sent  from  Flanders  to  England  became  the  staple  of  a 
large  export-trade  from  England  to  Flanders.  "The 
Low  Countries,"  writes  the  correspondent  of  Gran- 
velle,  "are  the  Indies  of  the  English,  who  make  war 
on  our  purses,  as  the  French,  some  years  since,  made 
war  on  our  towns."53 

Some  of  the  Flemish  provinces,  instead  of  giving 
way  to  despondency,  appealed  sturdily  to  their  char 
ters,  to  rescue  them  from  the  arbitrary  measures  of 
the  crown.  The  principal  towns  of  Brabant,  with 
Antwerp  at  their  head,  intrenched  themselves  behind 
their  Joyeuse  Entree.  The  question  was  brought  be 
fore  the  council;  a  decree  was  given  in  favor  of  the 
applicants,  and  ratified  by  the  regent ;  and  the  free 
soil  of  Brabant  was  no  longer  polluted  by  the  presence 
of  the  Inquisition.54 

The  gloom  now  became  deeper  round  the  throne 
of  the  regent.  Of  all  in  the  Netherlands  the  person 
least  to  be  envied  was  the  one  who  ruled  over  them. 
Weaned  from  her  attachment  to  Granvelle  by  the 
influence  of  the  lords,  Margaret  now  found  herself 
compelled  to  resume  the  arbitrary  policy  which  she 
disapproved,  and  to  forfeit  the  support  of  the  very 
party  to  which  of  late  she  had  given  all  her  confi 
dence.  The  lords  in  the  council  withdrew  from  her, 

53  "  II  y  a  longtemps  que  ces  Pai's-Bas  sont  les  Indes  d'Angleterre, 
et,  tant  qu'ilz  les  auront,  ilz  n'en  ont  besoing  d'aultres."     Correspon- 
dance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  382. 

54  Meteren,  Hist,  des  Pays-Bas,  torn.  i.  fol.  39,  40. — Correspondance 
de  Marguerite  d'Autriche,  p.  17. 


ALARM  OF   THE    COUNTRY.  56t 

the  magistrates  in  the  provinces  thwarted  her,  and 
large  masses  of  the  population  were  arrayed  in  actual 
resistance  against  the  government.  It  may  seem 
strange  that  it  was  not  till  the  spring  of  1566  that 
she  received  positive  tidings  of  the  existence  of  the 
league,  when  she  was  informed  of  it  by  Egmont  and 
some  others  of  the  council  of  state.55  As  usual,  the 
rumor  went  beyond  the  truth.  Twenty  or  thirty 
thousand  men  were  said  to  be  in  arms,  and  half  that 
number  to  be  prepared  to  march  on  Brussels  and  seize 
the  person  of  the  regent,  unless  she  complied  with 
their  demands.56 

For  a  moment  Margaret  thought  of  taking  refuge 
in  the  citadel.  But  she  soon  rallied,  and  showed 
the  spirit  to  have  been  expected  in  the  daughter  of 
Charles  the  Fifth.  She  ordered  the  garrisons  to  be 
strengthened  in  the  fortresses  throughout  the  country. 
She  summoned  the  companies  of  ordonnance  to  the 
capital,  and  caused  them  to  renew  their  oaths  of 
fidelity  to  the  king.  She  wrote  to  the  Spanish  min 
isters  at  the  neighboring  courts,  informing  them  of 
the  league,  and  warned  them  to  allow  no  aid  to  be 
sent  to  it  from  the  countries  where  they  resided. 
Finally,  she  called  a  meeting  of  the  knights  of  the 
Golden  Fleece  and  the  council  of  state,  for  the 
twenty-seventh  of  March,  to  deliberate  on  the  peril 
ous  situation  of  the  country.  Having  completed 
these  arrangements,  the  duchess  wrote  to  her  brother, 
informing  him  exactly  of  the  condition  of  things  and 
suggesting  what  seemed  to  her  counsellors  the  most 

55  Supplement  a  Strada,  torn.  ii.  p.  293. 

s«  Ibid.,  ubi  supra.— Strada,  De  Bello  Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  212. 
Y* 


562  PHILIP'S  INFLEXIBILITY. 

effectual  remedy.  She  wrote  the  more  freely,  as  her  love 
of  power  had  yielded  to  a  sincere  desire  to  extricate 
herself  from  the  trials  and  troubles  which  attended  it.57 
There  were  but  two  courses,  she  said,  force  or  con 
cession.58  The  former,  to  say  nothing  of  the  ruin  it 
would  bring  on  the  land,  was  rendered  difficult  by 
want  of  money  to  pay  the  troops,  and  by  the  want 
of  trustworthy  officers  to  command  them.  Conces 
sions  must  consist  in  abolishing  the  Inquisition, — a 
useless  tribunal  where  sectaries  swarmed  openly  in 
the  cities, — in  modifying  the  edicts,  and  in  granting 
a  free  pardon  to  all  who  had  signed  the  Compro 
mise,  provided  they  would  return  to  their  duty.59 
On  these  terms,  the  lords  of  the  council  were  willing 
to  guarantee  the  obedience  of  the  people.  At  all 
events,  they  promised  Margaret  their  support  in  en 
forcing  it.  She  would  not  express  her  own  preference 
for  either  of  the  alternatives  presented  to  Philip,  but 
would  faithfully  execute  his  commands,  whatever  they 
might  be,  to  the  best  of  her  ability.  Without  directly 
expressing  her  preference,  it  was  pretty  clear  on  which 
side  it  lay.  Margaret  concluded  by  earnestly  beseech 
ing  her  brother  to  return  an  immediate  answer  to  her 
despatches  by  the  courier  who  bore  them. 

57  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  402. — Strada,  De  Bello 
Belgico,  torn.  i.  p.  212. — Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Taciturne, 
torn.  ii.  p.  132. 

58  Supplement  a  Strada,  torn.  ii.  p.  294. 

59  "  Ostant  1' Inquisition,  qui  en  ce  temps  est  tant  odieuse  .  .  .  et  ne 
sert  quasi  de  riens,  pour  estre  les  Sectaires  assez  cognuz ;  moderant 
quant  et  quant  la  rigeur  des  Placcarts  ;  .  .  .  publiant  aussy  qunnt  et 
quant  pardon  general  pour  ceulx  qui  se  sont  meslez  de  laditte  Ligue." 
Ibid.,  p.  295. 


ORANGE  AND   EG  MO  NT.  563 

The  person  who  seems  to  have  enjoyed  the  largest 
share  of  Margaret's  confidence,  at  this  time,  was  Eg- 
mont.  He  remained  at  Brussels,  and  still  kept  his 
seat  in  the  council,  after  William  had  withdrawn  to  his 
estates  in  Breda.  Yet  the  prince,  although  he  had  left 
Brussels  in  disgust,  had  not  taken  part  with  the  con 
federates,  much  less — as  was  falsely  rumored,  and  to 
his  great  annoyance — put  himself  at  their  head.60  His 
brother,  it  is  true,  and  some  of  his  particular  friends, 
had  joined  the  league.  But  Louis  declares  that  he  did 
so  without  the  knowledge  of  William.  When  the  lat 
ter,  a  fortnight  afterwards,  learned  the  existence  of  the 
league,  he  expressed  his  entire  disapprobation  of  it.61 
He  even  used  his  authority,  we  are  told,  to  prevent 
the  confederates  from  resorting  to  some  violent  meas 
ures,  among  others  the  seizure  of  Antwerp,  promising 
that  he  would  aid  them  to  accomplish  their  ends  in  a 
more  orderly  way.62  What  he  desired  was  to  have  the 

<*> "  Le  Prince  d' Oranges  et  le  Comte  de  Homes  disoyent  en  plain  con- 
seil  qu'ils  estoyent  d'intention  de  se  voulloir  retirer  en  leurs  maisons, 
.  .  .  se  deuillans  mesmes  le  dit  Prince,  que  Ton  le  tenoit  pour  suspect  et 
pour  chief  de  ceste  Confederation."  Extract  from  the  Proces  d'Eg- 
mont,  in  the  Archives  de  la  Maison  d' Orange-Nassau,  torn.  ii.  p.  42. 

fii  "  De  laquelle  estant  advertis  quelques  quinze  jours  apres,  devant 
que  les  confederes  se  trouvassent  en  court,  nous  declarames  ouverte- 
ment  et  rondemcnt  qu'elle  ne  nous  plaisoit  pas,  et  que  ce  ne  nous 
sambloit  estre  le  vray  moyen  pour  maintenir  le  repos  et  tranquillite 
publique."  Extract  from  the  "Justification"  of  William  (1567),  in 
the  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  ii.  p.  n. 

62  This  fact  rests  on  the  authority  of  a  MS.  ascribed  to  Junius. 
(Brandt,  Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries,  vol.  i.  p.  162.)  Groen, 
however,  distrusts  the  authenticity  of  this  MS.  (Archives  de  la  Maison 
d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  ii.  p.  12.)  Yet,  whatever  may  be  thought  of 
the  expedition  against  Antwerp,  it  appears  from  William's  own  state 
ment  that  the  confederates  did  meditate  some  dangerous  enterprise, 


564  PHILIPS  INFLEXIBILITY. 

states-general  called  together  by  the  king.  But  he 
would  not  assume  a  hostile  attitude,  like  that  of  the 
confederates,  to  force  him  into  this  unpalatable  meas 
ure.63  When  convened,  he  would  have  had  the  legis 
lature,  without  transcending  its  constitutional  limits, 
remonstrate,  and  lay  the  grievances  of  the  nation 
before  the  throne. 

This  temperate  mode  of  proceeding  did  not  suit 
the  hot  blood  of  the  younger  confederates.  "Your 
brother,"  writes  Hames  to  Louis,  "is  too  slow  and 
lukewarm.  He  would  have  us  employ  only  remon 
strance  against  these  hungry  wolves ;  against  enemies 
who  do  nothing  in  return  but  behead,  and  banish,  and 
burn  us.  We  are  to  do  the  talking,  and  they  the 
acting.  Wre  must  fight  with  the  pen,  while  they  fight 
with  the  sword."64 

The  truth  was,  that  William  was  not  possessed  of 
the  fiery  zeal  which  animated  most  of  the  Reformers. 
In  his  early  years,  as  we  have  seen,  he  had  been  sub 
jected  to  the  influence  of  the  Protestant  religion  at 
one  period,  and  of  the  Roman  Catholic  at  another. 

from  which  he  dissuaded  them.  See  his  "Apology,"  in  Dumont, 
Corps  diplomatique,  torn.  v.  p.  392. 

63  "  Les  estatz-generaulx  ayans  pleine  puissance,  est  le  seul  remede 
a  nos  maulx;   nous  avons  le  mcyen  en  nostre  povoir  sans  aucune 
double  de  les  faire  assembler,  mais  on  ne  veult  estre  gueri."    Archives 
de  la  Maison  d'Orange-Nassau,  torn.  ii.  p.  37. 

64  "  Us  veullent  que  a  1'obstination  et  endurcissement  de  ces  loups 
affamez  nous  opposions  remonstrances,  requestes  et  en  fin  parolles,  la 
ou  de  leur  coste  ils  ne  cessent  de  brusler,  coupper  testes,  bannir  et 
exercer  leur  rage  en  toutes  fa9ons.      Nous  avons  le  moyen  de  les 
refrener  sans  trouble,  sans  dimculte,  sans  effusion  de  sang,  sans  guerre, 
et  on  ne  le  veult.    Soit  donques,  prenons  la  plume  et  eux  1'espee,  nous 
les  parolles,  eux  le  faict."     Ibid.,  p.  36. 


ORANGE  AND  EGMONT.  565 

If  the  result  of  this  had  been  to  beget  in  him  some 
thing  like  a  philosophical  indifference  to  the  great 
questions  in  dispute,  it  had  proved  eminently  favor 
able  to  a  spirit  of  toleration.  He  shrank  from  that 
system  of  persecution  which  proscribed  men  for  their 
religious  opinions.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  de 
spatches  from  Segovia,  William  wrote  to  a  friend,  "The 
king  orders  not  only  obstinate  heretics,  but  even  the 
penitent,  to  be  put  to  death.  I  know  not  how  I  can 
endure  this.  It  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  acting  in 
a  Christian  manner."65  In  another  letter  he  says, 
"I  greatly  fear  these  despatches  will  drive  men  into 
rebellion.  I  should  be  glad,  if  I  could,  to  save  my 
country  from  ruin,  and  so  many  innocent  persons  from 
slaughter.  But  when  I  say  any  thing  in  the  council  I 
am  sure  to  be  misinterpreted.  So  I  am  greatly  per 
plexed  ;  since  speech  and  silence  are  equally  bad."66 

Acting  with  his  habitual  caution,  therefore,  he  spoke 
little,  and  seldom  expressed  his  sentiments  in  writing. 
"The  less  one  puts  in  writing,"  he  said  to  his  less 
prudent  brother,  "the  better."67  Yet  when  the  occa 
sion  demanded  it  he  did  not  shrink  from  a  plain  avowal 
of  his  sentiments,  both  in  speaking  and  writing.  Such 
was  the  speech  he  delivered  in  council  before  Egmont's 
journey  to  Spain ;  and  in  the  same  key  was  the  letter 
which  he  addressed  to  the  regent  on  receiving  the 

65  "  Ire  Ma*-  gar  ernstlich  bevelt  das  man  nitt  allain  die  sich  in  andere 
leren  so  begeben,  sol  verbrennen,  sonder  auch  die  sich  widderumb 
bekeren,  sol  koppen  lasen ;  welges  ich  wahrlich  im  hertzen  hab  gefult, 
dan  bei  mir  nit  finden  kan  das  cristlich  noch  thunlich  ist."     Archives 
de  la  Maison  d' Orange-Nassau,  torn.  i.  p.  440. 

66  Ibid.,  torn.  ii.  p.  30. 

67  Ibid.,  torn.  i.  p.  432. 
Philip.— VOL.  I.  48 


5 66  PHILIPS  INFLEXIBILITY. 

despatches  from  Segovia.  But,  whatever  might  be  his 
reserve,  his  real  opinions  were  not  misundersto'od.  He 
showed  them  too  plainly  by  his  actions.  When  Philip's 
final  instructions  were  made  known  to  him  by  Mar 
garet,  the  prince,  as  he  had  before  done  under  Gran- 
velle,  ceased  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  council, 
and  withdrew  from  Brussels.68  He  met  in  Breda,  and 
afterwards  in  Hoogstraten,  in  the  spring  of  1566,  a 
number  of  the  principal  nobles,  under  cover,  as  usual, 
of  a  banquet.  Discussions  took  place  on  the  state  of 
the  country,  and  some  of  the  confederates  who  were 
present  at  the  former  place  were  for  more  violent 
measures  than  William  approved.  As  he  could  not 
bring  them  over  to  his  own  temperate  policy,  he  acqui 
esced  in  the  draft  of  a  petition,  which,  as  we  shall  see 
in  the  ensuing  chapter,  was  presented  to  the  regent.69 
On  the  whole,  up  to  the  period  at  which  we  are  ar 
rived,  the  conduct  of  the  prince  of  Orange  must  be 
allowed  to  have  been  wise  and  consistent.  In  some 
respects  it  forms  a  contrast  to  that  of  his  more  brilliant 
rival,  Count  Egmont. 

This  nobleman  was  sincerely  devoted  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith.  He  was  stanch  in  his  loyalty  to  the 
king.  At  the  same  time  he  was  ardently  attached  to 
his  country,  and  felt  a  generous  indignation  at  the 
wrongs  she  suffered  from  her  rulers.  Thus  Egmont 
was  acted  on  by  opposite  feelings ;  and,  as  he  was  a 
man  of  impulse,  his  conduct,  as  he  yielded  sometimes 

68  Hopper,  Recueil  et  Memorial,  p.  67. 

69  "  Tant  y  a  que  craignant  qu'il  n'en  suivit  une  tres  dangereuse 
issue  et  estimant  que  cette  voye  estoit  la  plus  douce  et  vrayment 
juridique,  je  confesse  n'avoir  trouve*   mauvais  que  la   Requeste  fut 
presentee."     Apology,  in  Dumont,  torn.  v.  p.  392. 


ORANGE  AND  EG  MO  NT.  567 

to  the  one  and  sometimes  to  the  other  of  these  influ- 
enc'es,  might  be  charged  with  inconsistency.  None 
charged  him  with  insincerity. 

There  was  that  in  Egmont's  character  which  early 
led  the  penetrating  Granvelle  to  point  him  out  to 
Philip  as  a  man  who  by  politic  treatment  might  be 
secured  to  the  royal  cause.70  Philip  and  his  sister,  the 
regent,  both  acted  on  this  hint.  They  would  hardly 
have  attempted  as  much  with  William.  Egmont's 
personal  vanity  made  him  more  accessible  to  their 
approaches.  It  was  this,  perhaps,  quite  as  much  as 
any  feeling  of  loyalty,  which,  notwithstanding  the 
affront  put  on  him,  as  he  conceived,  by  the  king, 
induced  him  to  remain  at  Brussels  and  supply  the 
place  in  the  counsels  of  the  regent  which  William 
had  left  vacant.  Yet  we  find  one  of  Granvelle's 
correspondents  speaking  of  Egmont  as  too  closely 
united  with  the  lords  to  be  detached  from  them. 
"To  say  truth,"  says  the  writer,  "he  even  falters  in 
his  religion ;  and  whatever  he  may  say  to-day  on  this 
point,  he  will  be  sure  to  say  the  contrary  to-morrow." 7I 
Such  a  man,  who  could  not  be  true  to  himself,  could 
hardly  become  the  leader  of  others. 

"They  put  Egmont  forward,"   writes  the  regent's 

7<>  "  He  escripto  diversas  vezes  que  era  bien  ganar  &  M.  d'Aigmont ; 
el  es  de  quien  S.  M.  puede  hechar  mano  y  confiar  mas  que  de  todos 
los  otros,  y  es  amigo  de  humo,  y  haziendole  algun  favor  extraordinario 
senalado  que  no  se  haga  &  otros,  demas  que  sera  ganarle  mucho, 
pondra  ze.los  d  los  otros."  Granvelle  to  Gonzalo  Perez,  June  27th, 
1563,  Papiers  d'6tat  de  Granvelle,  torn.  vii.  p.  115. 

71  "  II  est  tant  lye  avec  les  Seigneurs,  qu'il  n'y  a  moien  de  le  retirer, 
et  pour  dire  vray,  rnttat  in  religione,  et  ce  qu'il  dira  en  ce  aujourd'huy, 
il  dira  tout  le  contraire  lendemain."  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orangc- 
Nassau,  Supplement,  p.  25. 


5 68  PHILIP'S  INFLEXIBILITY. 

secretary,  "  as  the  boldest,  to  say  what  other  men  dare 
not  say."73  This  was  after  the  despatches  had  been 
received.  ''He  complains  bitterly,"  continues  the 
writer,  "of  the  king's  insincerity.  The  prince  has 
more  finesse.  He  has  also  more  credit  with  the  na 
tion.  If  you  could  gain  him,  you  will  secure  all."73 
Yet  Philip  did  not  try  to  gain  him.  With  all  his 
wealth,  he  was  not  rich  enough  to  do  it.  He  knew 
this,  and  he  hated  William  with  the  hatred  which  a 
despotic  monarch  naturally  bears  to  a  vassal  of  such 
a  temper.  He  perfectly  understood  the  character  of 
William.  The  nation  understood  it  too ;  and,  with 
all  their  admiration  for  the  generous  qualities  of  Eg- 
mont,  it  was  to  his  greater  rival  that  they  looked  to 
guide  them  in  the  coming  struggle  of  the  revolution. 

72  "  Ce  seigneur  est  a  present  celui  qui  parle  le  plus,  et  que  les 
autres  mettent  en  avant,  pour  dire  les  choses  qu'ils  n'oseraient  dire 
eux-memes."     Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  torn.  i.  p.  391. 

73  "  Le  prince  d'Orange  precede   avec  plus   de  finesse  que  M. 
d'Egmont:  il  a  plus  de  credit  en  general  et  en  particulier,  et,  si  Ton 
pouvait  le  gagner,  on  s'assurerait  de  tout  le  reste."      Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 


END    OF   THE    FIRST   VOLUME. 


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UC.D  LIBRARY 

JUAI  1  4  1963 


LlbrtHKr 

'UENOV29  1970 
NOV  2  5  REfcD 
1  1  ROTO 


Book  Siip-30m-8,'54(6210s4)458 


13736^ 


Prescott,  W.H. 

History  of  the  reign 
of  Philip  the  Second, 


Call  Number: 


DP178 
P7 

187U 
v.l 


1874- 
YJ 


137365 


Hi 

•HM 


• 


m..m 


• 


• 


I 


